Six sentenced for county lines drug dealing in Shropshire
Five men and a woman involved in county lines drug dealing in Shropshire have today been sentenced.
In January 2016, officers from West Mercia Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit launched an investigation into the supply of heroin and crack cocaine in Shrewsbury and Whitchurch.
The investigation found an organised crime group were running a county lines drug dealing operation from Liverpool into Shropshire on a daily basis.
Officers identified the supply of drugs into the county was co-ordinated from a mobile phone which was based in Merseyside.
The number was given to customers in Shropshire to ring to order their drugs with members of the group travelling between Merseyside and Shropshire on a regular basis to deal drugs to local users.
They also recruited local drug dealers to assist in providing them with local knowledge, transport and a base to operate from.
Police believe they made in excess of £500,000 from their activity.
Today, the group were sentenced to more than 34 years' imprisonment at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Jake Burrows, 24, from Hale, Liverpool, was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. Sentenced to nine years and six months. He was also given a one year suspended sentence to run concurrently for a robbery in Warrington in 2015. He will be subject to a serious crime prevention order on release from prison.
Jack Ross, 21, of Speke, Liverpool was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. He was sentenced to five years and six months.
Ryan Langshaw, 21, of Speke, Liverpool was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. He is sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
Jake Dykstra, 21, also from Speke, Liverpool was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply crack cocaine. He was sentenced to five and a half years to run concurrently for each offence, and was also sentenced to two years to run concurrently in connection with three other offences in Bournemouth, Hereford and Shrewsbury between 2016 and 2017.
Florence Marley, 58, from Shrewsbury was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and sentenced to two and a half years in Prison.
Paul Watton, 34, from Whitchurch was issued with a two year suspended sentence for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
On 12 February this year, a 24-year-old man from Liverpool was convicted on conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison. He will also be subject to a serious crime prevention order on release from prison.
Investigation
The investigation was led by Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector, Gavin Kinrade.
He said: "This gang who preyed on vulnerable members of our community addicted to illicit drugs. They showed no regard for these very vulnerable individuals or to the misery and devastation heroin and crack cocaine cause to individuals, their families or our community. They were motivated solely by greed.
"This was a complex and time consuming investigation and these offenders have been brought to justice by a professional and dedicated team of detectives who continue to fight organised crime in West Mercia. It should also act as a warning to other county lines gangs of what they can expect if they commit crime in West Mercia."
