54 YEARS FOR DRUGS GANG
EIGHT MEMBERS OF MILLION-POUND CITY COCAINE AND HEROIN RING JAILED AFTER SIX-MONTH POLICE OPERATION
MEMBERS of a drugs gang who plotted to flood South Wales with £1m worth of Class A drugs have been jailed for a total of more than 50 years.
Cardiff Crown Court was told police uncovered a “professional, wellorganised, drug-supply gang” operating in South Wales and that when vehicles were followed, the source led them to the north-west of England – with it becoming obvious the source was in Liverpool.
The crime is said to have taken place over “eight or nine months” since October 2015, with prosecutor Ieuan Bennett telling the court: “The maths takes you to the million-pound level.”
Eight men, six of whom are from Cardiff, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply.
Mark Cruise, 37, of Paget Street, Cardiff, was jailed for nine years; Marcus Thompson, 38, of Channel View Road, Cardiff, was jailed for nine years; Shaun Harris, 37, of Reservoir Street, Liverpool, was jailed for eight and a half years; Stephen Fenton, 38, of Heol Carnau, Cardiff, was jailed for seven years; Warren Pesticcio, 28, of Heol Terrell, Cardiff, was jailed for six and a half years; Paul Jewitt, 37, of Holmesdale Street, Cardiff, was jailed for six years; Mark Taylor, 56, of Lingwell Park, Widnes, was jailed for five years; and Kyle Gallagher, 29, of Broad Street, Cardiff, was jailed for three years.
Thompson, Cruise, Pesticcio, Jewitt and Fenton were all involved in moving heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine. Taylor, Gallagher and Harris were found not guilty of conspiring to supply crack cocaine.
Prosecuting, Mr Bennett said: “Whatever was originally supplied by Mr Harris via Mr Taylor, it was being adulterated in South Wales.”
“The expression ‘doubled up’ is used on the papers. That was to increase the profit margin from the original supply.
“The purity of the cocaine being supplied by Mr Harris via Mr Taylor was well over 70% purity. That inevitably, in the police’s view, has put Mr Harris closer to the original source than would otherwise be the case.
“The purity level of that sort of drug drops down to 10% by the time it gets to the street.”
The court heard “kilos or half-kilos” were being passed on to other suppliers.
“It was a big wholesale operation,” Mr Bennett said.
“If one accepts the evidence Your Honour will have heard yesterday, from the officer Mr Banks, at least 12 kilos of Class A drugs were supplied before December 15.”
Mr Bennett said: “The profits from this sort of thing are huge, which is why people became involved.”
The ringleaders in Wales were Cruise and Thompson.
“The other members of the conspiracy were effectively working for them,” Mr Bennett said.
“Cruise and Thompson were effectively business partners.”
The court heard Pesticcio rose to take over the “serious running of the business” after Cruise and Thompson. Jewitt was “a trusted friend” of Thompson and Cruise who dealt with transporting money to pay off debts.
Fenton would travel to the northwest every “10 days or so” to pick up drugs.
Gallagher was the most junior, having joined the operation “later in the day”.
“Mark Taylor was not from South Wales and worked for Shaun Harris, and he is someone who lived in the north-west of England,” Mr Bennett said.
Harris attempted to stay in the background and Mr Taylor usually took the greater risk by showing his face more often.
“But even Harris came down to South Wales on one occasion to ensure the operation was worth his risk and investment,” Mr Bennett said.
In Cardiff some of the cocaine was being turned into crack cocaine, because more money could be made from it.
When Cruise was arrested he was in possession of bicarbonate of soda.
“That is used to turn cocaine into crack-cocaine,” Mr Bennett said.