The gangs supplied more than £1 million worth of cocaine across the East Midlands
Gang members from Coventry and Warwickshire have been locked up for a total of 62 years.
Their sentences come as part of a court case that saw members of two drugs gangs jailed for a total of 104 years in prison for supplying more than £1 million worth of cocaine.
The gangs, which included six men from Coventry and Warwickshire, were part of two organised crime groups that trafficked an estimated 17kg of cocaine between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire between January 1, 2019 and January 27, 2020.
Huge amounts of drugs were seized in our area and elsewhere in the Midlands in a series of raids - and now a number of people are behind bars.
A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said: "During warrants executed at properties across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands, specialist search teams seized 2.086kg of uncut cocaine which had a street value of up to £209,000.
"Officers also uncovered evidence of lavish lifestyles with receipts for a staggering £266,225 of goods including luxury clothing still in boxes which had been purchased at stores in London, Paris, Copenhagen, encrypted mobile phones, and £29,540 of cash.
"The warrants were executed in January 2020.
"The investigation revealed how the OCG from Lincolnshire sourced the Class A drugs from a Coventry-based OCG, with couriers making frequent trips to the Coventry area for exchanges to take place. Drug buys also took place in a rural area near to Stanton on the Wolds in Nottinghamshire. The operation was uncovered by detectives and investigators from Lincolnshire Police and the East Midlands Serious Organised Crime Unit (EMSOU)."
Robert Diaz, 42, of Maltkiln Lane, Waddington, Lincoln. Found guilty of one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. Sentence: 19 years
Barry Knight, 60, of Nuneaton Road, Bulkington, Bedworth, Warwickshire. Found guilty of one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. Sentence: 18 years
Stephen Oliver, 44, of Windsor Street, Rugby, Warwickshire. Found guilty of one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of producing cannabis between 1st June 2019 and 16th January 2020. Sentence: 8 years plus a concurrent sentence of 21 months production of cannabis
Edward Wivell, 41, of North Parade, Lincoln. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs namely, Cocaine. Sentence: 6 years and four months
Andrew Turner, 40, of Holmcroft, Coventry, West Mids. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs namely, Cocaine, one count of producing Class B drugs namely cannabis, and one RIPA offence. Sentence: 8 years and 8 months, plus a concurrent sentence of 8 months for cannabis production and 4 months for failing to provide a passcode.
Joseph McCluskey, 43, of Parkfield Road, Keresley End, Coventry, West Midlands pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. Sentence: 9 years and 9 months
Jon Moreton, 50, of Torbay Road, Coventry, West Midlands pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. Sentence: 10 years and 9 months
Stuart Bassett-Hawcock, 34, of Oaklands Close, Lincoln. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. Sentence: 8 years
Jack Constable, 34, of Foxhall Road, Nottingham. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. Sentence: 8 years
Michael Kershaw, 41, of Florian Way, Coventry, West Midlands. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely, cocaine. Sentence: 7 years and 6 months
Diaz, Knight and Oliver had gone on trial at Nottingham Crown Court in August while the other seven had pleaded guilty to the charges they faced.
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 7:17 pm