11 years’ jail for ‘vile drug’ gang
English trio and a local man sent to prison for ‘county lines’ deals
A DRUGS gang travelled from England to peddle drugs on the streets of Llanelli.
Three men travelled from the West Midlands area to take part in an operation, which conspired to supply cocaine, heroin, synthetic cannabinoids better known as spice, and cannabis.
They were joined in the county lines operation by a Llanelli man, who was described as ‘a gopher’.
All four men were given jailed sentences at Swansea Crown Court.
A GANG travelled from England to peddle drugs on the streets of Llanelli.
Ravi Talware, Daniel Higgins and Ben Walker all travelled from the West Midlands area to the town to take part in an operation which conspired to supply cocaine, heroin, synthetic cannabinoids, better known as spice, and cannabis.
They were joined in the operation by Llanelli man Damien Hearne, who was described as ‘a gopher’.
It was a county lines operation, where a telephone line referred to as ‘Mitch’ was in use to facilitate the sale of the drugs.
All four men appeared before Swansea Crown Court for sentencing, with Talware, 29, of Quicksand Lane, Walsall, having admitted two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs and two counts of conspiring to supply Class B drugs, along with having an offensive weapon.
Higgins, 37, of Vauxhall Street in Dudley, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs, and one count of having an offensive weapon, while Walker, 21, of Bath Meadow in Cradley, Dudley, admitted one count of conspiring to supply Class A drugs.
Hearne, 35, of Elizabeth Street in Llanelli, admitted two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs and one count of conspiring to supply Class B drugs.
The court heard on February 21, police officers were on mobile patrol in Llanelli when they spotted Hearne riding a pedal bike down Station Road and saw him turn into a lane frequently used by drug dealers.
In the lane, they saw him with known drug users in the middle of a drug deal. Hearne was searched and 18 foil wraps containing 14.5 grams of spice were discovered.
He was arrested and taken to the police station.
Later that day police attended a property in Maes y Bwlch, Llanelli, where they found Talware, Higgins and Walker trying to flee from the address.
The court heard that several bags were thrown over the fence as they made off, which were later found to contain 90 wraps of cocaine, 100 wraps of heroin and cash.
Weapons were also discovered including what was referred to as police ASPs, arrows, a hunting knife and a balaclava.
Robin Rouch, prosecuting, told the court that the men had been running a county lines operation in Llanelli, with a telephone line in operation that was being referred to as Mitch.
Two mobile phones that were in operation and monitored were later discovered to belong to Talware, who was seen as the leader in the operation.
There had been text messages sent out offering a ‘three for £50 mix and match’. The men used a Vauxhall Astra and its movements were tracked by police using ANPR (automatic number plate recognition).
Sentencing the four men, Judge Paul Thomas said: “Three of you came down from the West Midlands to peddle vile drugs in Llanelli, a town which has had more than its share of problems.”
Talware was jailed for four and a half years, while Walker and Hearne were both jailed for three years. Higgins was jailed for 14 months.
Speaking after the sentencing, Dyfed-Powys Police detective sergeant Andy Clatworthy said: “The message from our communities is clear – illegal drugs cause misery.
“I’d like to thank the public for giving us information so we can target drug dealers who take advantage of the most vulnerable in society.
“I want to reassure the public that we are working closely with partners to reduce drug misuse within our communities, to make it a less lucrative market for drug suppliers to operate in, and make the county a safer place to live.
“I encourage anyone with any information or concerns to contact us – as you’ve seen, we will take action.”
County lines is a national issue where organised crime groups put children and vulnerable adults between themselves and the risk of detection by manipulating them into carrying and selling drugs.