Ten year jail term for role in large scale drugs ring
SIX men - including one from Loughborough - have been jailed for almost 60 years for their part in a large scale drugs operation across Leicestershire and West Yorkshire.
They have been sentenced over two days (Wednesday, December 20 and Thursday, December 21) at Leicester Crown Court.
Daniel Witheridge, 30, of Woodthorpe Road, Loughborough, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and possession with intent to supply class A drugs (cocaine) and was sentenced to 10 years in prison
Jason Gooch, 41, of Crown Flatt Way, Dewsbury, has been found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (cocaine) between October and November 2016 and was sentenced to 14 years in prison
Rishi Karir, 32, of Oak Road, Littlethorpe, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs (cocaine) was sentenced to 10 years in prison
Jonathon Lightbrown, 29, of Blaby Road, Wigston, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (cocaine) between October and November 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison
Francesco Dimola, 33, of Packhorse Lane, Enderby, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs (cocaine) between October and November 2016 and was sentenced to eight years in prison
Christopher Smith, 32, of Gainsborough Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs (cocaine) between October and November 2016 and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison
The investigation was carried out by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit and involved tracking the movements of the defendants through Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and analysis of phone data after their arrests to see who was in contact with whom.
As part of the operation, it was established that a large amount of high purity cocaine was delivered into Leicestershire, thought to be worth between £640,000 and £1.6m.
Lightbrown was arrested on November 22 last year and was found to have 2kg cocaine in the car he was driving.
Officers carrying out covert observations on him saw an exchange between him and Gooch in the car park of a fast food restaurant at Meridian Leisure Park in Leicester.
Investigator Rosie Wood said: “This is a successful end to a lengthy investigation into the supply of drugs into the city.
“These men will be in prison, making the streets of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, safer places to be.”