Final drugs gang trio dealt with by courts
CRIMINALS BROUGHT DOWN IN POLICE OPERATION
THE main players in an organised crime gang that brought class A drugs into Leicestershire have been sentenced.
The three men were part of a 12-strong group of crooks who were involved in supplying narcotics to Leicestershire and Hertfordshire from Nottinghamshire, Merseyside and Cambridgeshire.
The gang, whose members included five local men, was brought to justice after a five-month investigation by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU).
During the police inquiry, more than a kilogram of cocaine stamped “Gold” was seized from a Mercedes near Castle Donington, 500g of heroin was recovered from an Astra near Leicester and £35,000 was found hidden in a dustbin in Liverpool.
A further half-a-kilogram of cocaine and £8,000 was recovered after it was thrown out of a Mercedes involved in a high speed pursuit.
The defendant, Deon Farrow, of Leicester, then climbed up a tree in a bid to escape arrest.
Nine members of the gang were jailed in 2019 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, being sentenced to more than 50 years between them.
The final three defendants, Reece Fraser, Jay Taylor and Vincent Robinson, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, namely cocaine, in November last year.
The trio have now been sentenced at Northampton Crown Court.
Fraser (32), of Acacia Drive, Nottingham, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
However, due to the time served on remand, he would not need to serve any additional term in prison.
Taylor (34) of Carnarvon Grove, Carlton, Nottingham, and Robinson (59), of First Avenue, Carlton, Nottingham, were both sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. They were also both ordered to complete unpaid work.
Detective Chief Inspector James Avery said after the final sentencings: “This was an organised group of drug dealers with national reach.
“Now that all those involved have been dealt with by the courts, and heroin and cocaine with a street value of £170,000 removed from circulation, we see yet another criminal enterprise dismantled and communities across the country no longer suffering the harm caused by them.
“But we’re not stopping there. The next stop is recovering their criminal proceeds through the Proceeds of Crime Act.”
The nine men previously sentenced - at Leicester Crown Court in November 2019 - were:
Akbar Pathan (37), formerly of Mount Avenue, in Spinney Hills, Leicester, jailed for two years and six months.
Ameen Jogee (32), formerly of London Road, Leicester, jailed for two years and four months.
Kristian Lynas King (47), formerly of Forest Gate, in Anstey, jailed for nine years and eight months.
Marc Fleetwood (34), formerly of Rice Lane in Liverpool, jailed for five years and nine months.
Michael Graham (39), formerly of Derby Road, Liverpool, jailed for 12 years.
Neil Falanga (40), formerly of Aldeburgh Close, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, jailed for six years.
Kulraj Gill (48), formerly of Fox Hollow, in Oadby, jailed for four years and 10 months.
Ameed Hussain (33), formerly of Windmill Street, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, jailed for four years.
Deon Farrow (29), formerly of Willow Brook Road, Humberstone, in Leicester, jailed for seven years and eight months
A tenth man was acquitted.