Three jailed after drugs ring smashed in police operation
THREE men have been jailed for a total of more than 26 years for their part in the supply of drugs across the South West.
They were among six men in court after a major investigation into the supply of controlled drugs in the region.
The three-year police investigation, known as Operation Decode, was led by Avon and Somerset Police in partnership with Wiltshire Police and Devon and Cornwall Police.
On March 16, 2021, warrants were executed across the region which led to seven suspects being charged with various offences related to drug possession and supply.
During the course of the investigation around £60,000 in cash and significant quantities of drugs were found and seized by police.
This included 248g of cocaine and 1kg cannabis from a vehicle in Devon; 1.275kg cocaine from a lock-up in Burnham Road, Bristol; 1.3kg of cannabis from a lock-up at Tarnock Avenue, Bristol, and approximately £94,000 of steroids and prescription medications from locations in south Bristol and Chippenham.
Six men appeared for sentencing at Bristol Crown Court, while a seventh man was given an 18-month conditional discharge after admitting possession with intent to supply cannabis.
Sebastian Dymond, 38, of Ashton, Bristol, was charged with six offences relating to possession and supply of drugs.
A police investigation found he was the principal figure in an organised crime group responsible for distributing cocaine and cannabis across the region. He was jailed for 12 years.
Police inquiries established that Dymond had a number of customers across the region, including Grant McEvansoneya, 31, of Barnstaple, who had purchased significant quantities of cocaine and cannabis for onward sale in the North Devon area.
He was jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.
Daniel Parsons, 39, of Hartcliffe, was charged with conspiring to supply class A drugs after investigators found evidence he had also supplied cocaine to McEvansoneya.
He received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, plus unpaid work totalling 150 hours.
The investigation also found Dymond had purchased large amounts of prescription medication and steroids from Kalvir Singh, 42, of Chippenham, for onward sale.
Singh was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, for three charges relating to possession and supply of class B and C drugs and two counts of possession of criminal property.
He was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.
Working closely with Dymond was Maksymillian Zurek, 33, of Lawrence Weston, who was jailed for six years and six months after pleading guilty to four charges which included possession of and conspiracy to supply class A and B Drugs, and possessing a prohibited weapon.
Oliver Duxbury, 35, of Trowbridge, was found to have purchased cocaine from Zurek on multiple occasions and was sentenced to 30 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months, plus 150 hours unpaid work.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Dewfall of the Avon and Somerset Complex Crime Unit said: “The combined value of cash and drugs officers recovered as part of Operation Decode provides some insight into the scale of organised crime we’ve been able to disrupt.
“I hope today’s outcome will encourage more members of the public to tell us what they know about suspected drug-related activity in their community.
“Each report allows us to build an intelligence picture and take positive action where we have evidence to suggest drug crime is taking place.”