COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The arrests were made as part of West Midland Police's Operation Blue Steel



A Coventry drugs ring has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after police seized £1.7million of drugs from cars and properties belonging to the gang.

Four members of the gang were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday April 22 for conspiracy to supply drugs.

The initial arrests were made after searches conducted by officers in June and July last year uncovered cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis hidden in cars and properties across Coventry.

Joseph Squire, 36 of Nuffield Road, Court House Green, was sentenced to five years in prison after cops found almost £320,000 of cocaine in his home.

He was collared after being spotted leaving Lee Walters' BMW in Nuffield Road on July 25 holding a package.

After searching Squire’s home, West Midlands Police officers found blocks of cocaine, with a purity as high as 87 per cent, along with scales.

Walters, 25 of Dartmouth Road, Wyken , denied any involvement in supplying the cocaine. He was handed 11 years after a jury found him guilty.

Robert Lines, 51, of Heather Road, Binley Woods, was found to be a major player in the gang after helping supply drugs as far afield as Wales.

He was sentenced to 15 years after admitting conspiracy to supply drugs.

The final gang member arrested by police was Sara Bromell, 50 of Dane Road, Stoke.

Her home was used as a pick-up point for the drugs. She was sentenced to three years after admitting her role in the conspiracy.

Last year three other members of the gang were also jailed.

Christopher Windmill, 41 of Jardine Crescent, was found with a suitcase of amphetamine after leaving Bromell’s home and was sentenced to three years and eight months at Birmingham Crown Court.

Stuart Parry, 39 of Butterfield Drive, Cardiff, was also stopped after leaving the property with a stash of drugs and was jailed for 12 months at Warwick Crown Court last December.

Richard Scales, 51 of Park Street Lane, St Albans, was sentenced to two years and eight months for possession with intent to supply in August after being stopped with almost £300,000 of cannabis on the M6 between junctions 14 and 15.

Detective Inspector Wendy Bailey, of the serious and organised crime unit, said: “Through diligent police work we were able to identify a significant drugs network and bring those responsible to justice.

“Operation Blue Steel is all about taking troubled estates out of the hands of criminals and returning these estates to the community, by working with other agencies to focus on each individual criminal and to stop their offending.”

The arrests were made as part of West Midlands Police crack down on organised crime in the region.

Operation Blue Steel was launched in 2015 and has already seen scores of suspected gang members arrested - plus weapons, drugs and cash seized - during a series of raids.

Coventry drugs gang boss has jail term cut by appeal court



A major Coventry player in a drugs gang jailed for his role in a massive supply scam involving cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines has had his sentence reduced by senior judges.

Robert Lines, 41, of Heather Road, Binley Woods, was locked up for 15 years at Birmingham Crown Court in April after he admitted four counts of conspiracy to supply drugs.

Lines had a “leading role in this conspiracy to supply three different types of drugs”, Mr Justice Morris told London’s Appeal Court.

“He organised buying and selling drugs on a commercial scale and had substantial links to others in the chain,” he added.

Lines was in close phone contact with couriers and “mules” involved in ferrying narcotics between the Midlands and the home counties.

One of the gang’s hirelings was intercepted by police outside St Albans - with a £290,000 haul of cannabis found stashed in the boot of his car.

Later on, another of the gang’s mules was stopped carrying amphetamines, worth £700,000 on the streets.

Mr Justice Morris, sitting with Lady Justice Sharp, noted Lines’ “leading involvement” in the drugs operation.

But he ruled that the 15-year term was just too stiff, cutting it to 12 years.

“The overall sentence was manifestly excessive,” he concluded, allowing Lines’ appeal.