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Nearly eight decades for drugs gang which created 'no go' areas

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 02 July 2010

Surveillance footage and images available from SOCA press office

Eight members of a complex drug trafficking network which stretched across Southern England to South Wales have been sentenced today to a total of 79 years and 8 month in prison.

So far, 28 people have been charged in connection with the network’s activities. Of these, 26 have been convicted or pleaded guilty, with two more awaiting trial.

The network, which was made up of three regional gangs working together, is believed to have trafficked around half a tonne of cocaine, at times distributing up to eight kilos every 10 days. Its impact on one area of South Wales turned two previously popular pubs into no-go areas for the local community.

SOCA’s two-and-a-half-year drugs and money laundering investigation was supported by Dorset Police, Kent Constabulary, South Wales Police, and other partners including the Australian Federal Police and the Metropolitan Police.

The operation began in September 2007, when SOCA officers identified links between the supply of drugs to the Swansea Valley area of South Wales and individuals on the south coast of England.

The investigation found three regional sub-groups in Bournemouth, Kent and the Swansea Valley area, directed respectively by Craig Blake, Darren Quick and David Richards. The South Wales gang procured drugs from Quick’s Kent organisation, with Blake’s gang in Bournemouth acting as the conduit.

Officers used covert surveillance, drug seizures and the arrest of important members of the conspiracy to systematically dismantle the network at every level. This culminated in the 2009 arrest and charging of five key subjects and their associates in South Wales and Bournemouth.

Matthew Horne, of SOCA, said:

"This investigation has taken apart a complex criminal operation which was bringing considerable harm to communities across the UK, and was led by individuals with the ability to export drugs and launder money around the world."

"Work is continuing to ensure the gang members can’t profit from their crimes, and any member of an organised crime gang can be sure that SOCA will continue to use all the tools and partnership opportunities at our disposal to bring them down."

Ian Frost, reviewing lawyer for the Organised Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service said:

"The investigation by SOCA gathered a huge amount of evidence to bring this three-pronged conspiracy to an end. The scale of the investigation meant this volume of material had to be reduced into a manageable and accessible form for a jury by the Organised Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service.

"We worked closely with SOCA and prosecuting counsel to put together a strong case which clearly set out the criminal behaviour of the defendants in the large scale supply of cocaine over a number of years.

"The case was so convincing that out of the 10 defendants sentenced today, eight pleaded guilty and two were convicted after trial. The efforts of the prosecuting team mean that not only has the supply of a substantial amount of cocaine dried up but three organised crime businesses have been shut down."

Detective Superintendent Mark Cooper, Dorset Police’s Director of Major, Serious and Organised Crime, said:

"Today’s outstanding result came about after a long and complex multi-agency operation.

"Dorset Police is committed to detecting, dismantling and disrupting serious organised crime groups – at all levels – and today’s sentencing should send out a clear message that the Force works relentlessly to bring offenders to justice.

"I believe that this result reflects the seriousness of these crimes, in which the offenders showed complete disregard for the law and dealt in the misery of drugs for financial profit."

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Notes to editors:

Two more members of the criminal network are due to be sentenced on 9 July 2010.

Detective Sergeant Rob Haines of Kent Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said:

"Kent Police has worked in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies to investigate an extensive money-laundering network in the South East.

"Officers conducted detailed enquiries and uncovered large sums of money being transferred through bank accounts and being moved between locations.

”Kent Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit will seek and pursue those involved in the supply and distribution of controlled drugs and those who launder their money."

Detective Superintendent Steve Benson-Davison, head of the Organised Crime Unit at South Wales Police, said:

"The quantities of drugs and cash seized were significant and the arrests disrupted a criminal gang who were trafficking drugs and laundering money across the country. South Wales Police will be relentless in its pursuit of individuals who cause the greatest harm to our communities.

"We will work with other law enforcement agencies and look to utilise every tool available to secure convictions and strip these criminals of any assets they have gained through their involvement in crime.

"This operation sent out a clear message to drug dealers and organised crime groups that it is our full intention to protect communities from the harm and misery they cause for their own profit."

Sentenced today:

Darren Brian Quick: 18/11/65. Sentenced to 14 years and 4 months

Craig Duncan Victor Blake: DOB 21/04/72. Sentenced to 16 years and 8 months
Gareth Richard Davies: DOB. 25/01/74. Sentenced to 12 years
Michael Anthony Green: DOB 08/05/80. Sentenced to 9 years
Matthew Paul Howgate: DOB 12/10/76. Sentenced to 5 years

David Carl Richards: DOB 06/04/78. Sentenced to 12 years
Keri Lyn Pritchard: DOB: 27/05/76. Sentenced to 9 years and 4 months
Adam Horton: DOB 11/04/87. Sentenced to 1 year and 4 months

Due for sentencing 9 July 2010

Lee Maurice Cutler: DOB 18/02/77, Surrey Road, Bournemouth.
David Williams: DOB 21/10/67, Brytwn Rd, Cwmmer, Port Talbot.

Contacts:

Press Office
Phone: 0870 268 8100
pressoffice@soca.x.gsi.gov.uk