Two drug gangs and leading suppliers who plagued Nottinghamshire’s streets with heroin and cocaine have been locked up for more than 150 years.
More than a dozen drug dealers were directly involved in an illicit operation that saw the area flooded with more than ten kilos of Class A drugs from different parts of the UK.
Two organised crime groups were responsible for copious amounts of cocaine and heroin being supplied across Nottinghamshire over a seven-month period.
Between November 2019 and April 2020, the Nottingham-based group bought cocaine in bulk from high-level suppliers based in the north and south of England, which they then sold to local drug dealers.
This included another group, who sold this cocaine to drug users across Eastwood and the Broxtowe area, while also selling large quantities of heroin they’d sourced from different corners of the country too.
The two groups used an encrypted communications platform to coordinate their drug activity and communicate with other suppliers throughout this period.
An extensive police investigation by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) was launched to dismantle the network and bring those operating at different levels up and down this drug dealing supply chain to justice.
It led to the complete collapse of the entire criminal operation, with police charging a total of 18 people in connection with the illicit drug activities.
All 18 conspirators appeared before Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday (30 March 2023) where they were jailed for a combined 166 years and one month.
Detective Inspector Mark Adas said: “These two organised crime groups worked together to become a major distribution arm of a drug dealing enterprise with reach across the country, sending tens of thousands of pounds-worth of harmful substances into communities across Nottinghamshire and beyond.
“They were dealing in substantial quantities of potent class A drugs and large sums of cash at any one time – a scale of criminality that often brings with it violence and misery for the communities in which they operate.
“By using an encrypted communications platform to coordinate their illicit activity, they thought they were going undetected, but when the EncroChat platform was taken down by law enforcement, the full scale of their offending was laid bare.
“This is only the first part of our action against these gangs.
"Next up, is seeking prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to ensure they do not benefit by a single penny from their crimes.”
Read more, here.