Jailed: Major player drug dealers peddled cocaine stamped with cryptic phrase
A gang of drug dealers who supplied millions of pounds worth of cocaine in the West Midlands have been jailed for more than 40 years total.
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Martin Brown, Mark Cheadle, Paul Paterson and James Piotrowski were all jailed last week for their part in a major drugs conspiracy.
A major investigation by Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) officers uncovered the four transporting hundreds of kilos of cocaine from London and Bedfordshire and distributing them throughout the Midlands, including the Black Country.
On November 10, 2022, a van hired by the group was stopped by officers on the M6, where 130 kilograms of cocaine were found in the back.
The driver, Martin Brown, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
The cocaine in the van was in green refuse sacks and the blocks themselves stamped with the Latin phrase "alea iacta est" or "the die is cast". The arrest of Brown led officers to Piotrowski, who was arrested on the same day with 10 kilograms of cocaine found in his van.
The cocaine found was identical to that found in Brown's van, with the same Latin words stamped on the packaging.
Mark Cheadle and Paul Paterson were later arrested after they were identified as the people who supplied the drugs to Brown and Piotrowski.
Following an extensive investigation, all four defendants were charged and jailed on August 14.
Cheadle, Paterson and Brown were charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs, while Piotrowski was charged with being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
Mark Cheadle, 57, of Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, was jailed for 15 years and two months; Paul Paterson, 43, of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, was jailed for 12 years and nine months; Martin Brown, 40, of Foster Road, Coventry, was jailed for 13 years and seven months; and James Piotrowski, 40, of Trescott Road, Birmingham, was jailed for six years.
