Jail for pair arrested in drug-dealing crackdown
Two men arrested as part of a county-wide crackdown on crack cocaine and heroin dealing in the Hinckley area have been jailed.
Marvin Kelly and Martin Evans, both 38, appeared at Leicester Crown Court for sentencing last week after admitting conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Evans, of Tame Way, Hinckley, was jailed for two years and eight months. He was arrested in September
as part of Operation Impose. Kelly was arrested outside his address in Somerset Road, Coventry, where a significant stash of class A drugs was found. Police also found £18,000. Kelly had invested in a counting machine as the cash from his criminal activities rolled in. He was jailed for six years.
The court heard Evans worked for the Marcus line of drug supply between January and September 2021, with Kelly leading this in the Hinckley area.
The Marcus line operates at street level, selling drugs to established and trusted customers rather than newcomers.
The system uses more than one phone number and different vehicles to make drop-offs.
An undercover Leicestershire officer passed himself off as a customer and made test purchases of crack cocaine and heroin. This led to the arrest of Evans and Kelly in September.
The officer responsible for Operation Impose, Det Chief Insp Gavin Drummond, said: “I’m very pleased that these sentences mean two more people, who were responsible for bringing drugs into the county and selling them on, are behind bars for a considerable amount of time.
“The enforcement took a significant amount of drugs off the streets of Leicestershire and some neighbouring counties, protecting vulnerable people at risk of being exploited by drug dealers.”
Kelly had invested in a counting machine as the cash from his criminal activities rolled in.