A 27-year-old man has become the fourteenth person to receive jail time in connection with the supply of Class A drugs across Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Devon.
The investigation into the organised crime group began in 2021, when officers from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s (EMSOU) Regional Organised Crime Unit began investigating an organised crime gang run by a 36-year-old man, who was using his business in Northampton, as a front.
From it, he was overseeing the sale of large volumes of cocaine to contacts in Barnstaple in Devon, as well as directly to users across Northamptonshire, with the help of trusted associates.
During the police investigation, officers painstakingly gathered evidence of the gang’s movements and dealings, identifying who was making the drug deliveries, who was buying the drugs for onward sale, and who was making regular trips to Devon where consignments of cocaine were sold to ‘downstream’ customers.
One of these trusted associates was a man who was involved in facilitating trips to both Milton Keynes and Devon for the purposes of supplying cocaine in huge amounts.
In July, August and September 2022, the police team had gathered enough evidence to enforce against the gang, and following the execution of warrants at multiple properties across the three counties, all the conspirators, including the man, were arrested.
During the raids, large seizures of cocaine and cannabis were made, along with a total of more than £110,000 in criminally obtained cash, several phones, a hydraulic press for the wholesale preparation of cocaine and an illegal CS spray branded ‘Armerican Style Nato Super Paralisant’.
Other searches uncovered designer watches including Rolex, Breitling, Versace and Tag Heuer.
At the end of last year, 13 men were jailed as part of the conspiracy at Northampton Crown Court to a collective total of 91 years in prison.
Today (9 February), the man appeared at the same court, where he was jailed for 12 years for his part in the criminal enterprise.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Sergeant Chris Sewell said: "I am really pleased that we have secured another jail sentence as part of this investigation and I hope it demonstrates the seriousness with which we take offences such as this.
"I would like to once again thank the team from EMSOU for their hard work, thoroughness and diligence, qualities which they have demonstrated throughout this case and the reason why it has been so successful."
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