Nearly eight decades for drugs gang which created ‘no go’ areas
5 July 2010Eight members of a complex drug trafficking network which stretched across Southern England to South Wales have been sentenced to a total of 79 years and eight months in prison (02 July 2010).
To date 26 people have been convicted or pleaded guilty to offences connected to the network’s activities, with a further two awaiting trial.
The network, which was made up of three regional gangs working together, is believed to have trafficked around half a tonne of cocaine, at times distributing up to eight kilos every 10 days.
Its impact on one area of South Wales turned two previously popular pubs into no-go areas for the local community.
SOCA’s two-and-a-half-year drugs and money laundering investigation was supported by Dorset Police, Kent Constabulary, South Wales Police, and other partners including the Australian Federal Police and the Metropolitan Police.
The operation began in September 2007, when SOCA officers identified links between the supply of drugs to the Swansea Valley area of South Wales and individuals on the south coast of England.
The investigation found three regional sub-groups in Bournemouth, Kent and the Swansea Valley area, directed respectively by Craig Blake, Darren Quick and David Richards. The South Wales gang procured drugs from Quick’s Kent organisation, with Blake’s gang in Bournemouth acting as the conduit.
Officers used covert surveillance, drug seizures and the arrest of important members of the conspiracy to systematically dismantle the network at every level. This culminated in the 2009 arrest and charging of five key subjects and their associates in South Wales and Bournemouth.
Matthew Horne, of SOCA, said:
“This investigation has taken apart a complex criminal operation which was bringing considerable harm to communities across the UK, and was led by individuals with the ability to export drugs and launder money around the world.
“Work is continuing to ensure the gang members can’t profit from their crimes, and any member of an organised crime gang can be sure that SOCA will continue to use all the tools and partnership opportunities at our disposal to bring them down.”
Two more members of the criminal network are due to be sentenced on 9 July 2010.
Sentenced:
Darren Brian Quick: 18/11/65. Sentenced to 14 years and 4 months
Craig Duncan Victor Blake: DOB 21/04/72. Sentenced to 16 years and 8 months
Gareth Richard Davies: DOB. 25/01/74. Sentenced to 12 years
Michael Anthony Green: DOB 08/05/80. Sentenced to 9 years
Matthew Paul Howgate: DOB 12/10/76. Sentenced to 5 years
David Carl Richards: DOB 06/04/78. Sentenced to 12 years
Keri Lyn Pritchard: DOB: 27/05/76. Sentenced to 9 years and 4 months
Adam Horton: DOB 11/04/87. Sentenced to 1 year and 4 months
Due for sentencing 9 July 2010:
Lee Maurice Cutler: DOB. 18/02/77, Surrey Road, Bournemouth.
David Williams: DOB 21/10/67, Brytwn Rd, Cwmmer, Port Talbot.