Cocaine gang had drugs worth £2.7m
Other significant seizures include more than £5,000 cash, small quantities of cocaine, cannabis resin, scales with traces of cocaine, encrypted mobile telephones and drug debt lists.
The three defendants – along with a fourth man called Anthony Carr – were arrested and later charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, namely cocaine.
Carr, 39, pleaded guilty at an earlier court appearance.
Casselden, 42, McGovern, 46, and Wear, 54, had denied the charges but they were convicted by a jury.
Following the case at Newcastle Crown Court, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Colling said he was “delighted” with the convictions.
He said: “Cocaine is an incredibly addictive drug, which causes untold physical harm to those who abuse it. Not only does it ruin the lives of those who use it but it also has a devastating social impact on our communities
“We are delighted with the outcome of this trial.
“The conviction of these men should send a very clear message to organised crime groups in the North East.
“We will pursue you, and use every tactic at our disposal to disrupt your criminal activities. We will prosecute you and dismantle your criminal organisations in order to make our communities safer.
“These men made a huge amount of money through this criminality and that will now be assessed with the view of confiscating their assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This will prevent them from continuing their life of crime. We will continue to put serious offenders before the courts.”
Casselden, of Manor Way, Peterlee; McGovern, of Liverton Avenue, Guisbrough; Wear, of Albion Road, North Shields; and Carr, of Redesdale Road, North Shields, will now all be sentenced at Teesside Crown Court on July 6.