Express & Star

Wolverhampton No Deal drug ring gets 100 years in jail

Dealers caught in the Black Country's biggest drugs bust have been sentenced to a total of more than 100 years behind bars.

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A gang of 10, including ringleader Dwayne Jackson, were locked up in the latest wave of jail terms handed out following Operation No Deal.

Jackson, 29, of Aston Court, Claverley, was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison, while nine others were also given sentences ranging from a community order to five years and eight months in prison.

In total, the latest gang got more than 30 years in jail.

Operation No Deal has already seen 30 dealers put behind bars for a total of more than 71 years.

The latest group, from Wolverhampton, Willenhall and Dudley, were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court for their roles in an "organised and professional" operation involving heroin and crack cocaine.

See also: Moment police smashed 24/7 crack den gang is caught on video

More to come from Operation No Deal, says police chief

23 jailed after No Deal sentencing

The gang was caught after selling drugs to undercover police officers between October 2012 and March 2013, but the conspiracy lasted until September 2013, while many of the offenders were still on bail.

On 23 occasions, at least one of the group sold drugs to the undercover officers in rented cars on car parks at a McDonald's on Stafford Road, Wolverhampton, and a pet store in Dunstall Park.

Jackson was also arrested by police in September 2013, and officers found the self-employed barber had £1,400 in cash.

Judge Paul Farrar told him: "You were the person that controlled the conspiracy. Of the 24 instances, virtually all of them involved you. You were the architect of this conspiracy and controlled the supply of drugs and I have no doubt that you made a significant profit from this."

DCI Paul Drover, who has led Operation No Deal, said he was pleased with the sentences, but added that the fight against drugs in Wolverhampton was not over.

The Express & Star interviewed DCI Drover on the day No Deal was launched last year:

He said: "We are very aware that by taking action against a number of individuals, this opens the door to the next wave of dealers. We will continue to do everything we can to try to stop this happening and take action against those criminals.

"We have shown that we take all information very seriously and will act upon it."

Over the last nine months, officers arrested more than 60 people during early morning raids at addresses across the city which led to 40 being charged with drugs offences.

HOW THE NET CLOSED IN ON DRUG GANG

They ran a drug supply racket for almost a year, selling crack cocaine and heroin to addicts.

But this week eight of the 10-strong gang were behind bars after becoming the latest round of drug dealers snared in Operation No Deal to be sentenced.

Dwayne Jackson, 29, of Aston Court, Claverley, led the gang as their operation shifted kilos of the drugs across Wolverhampton. He was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison.

Seven others were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for their involvement, which ranged from renting out cars to drive to meets, to handling the drugs and cash from sales. Undercover police officers contacted the dealers on a mobile phone number obtained from an addict, which became known as the 'D-line'.

Officers lead away a suspect in Operation No Deal

Jackson had already got two previous convictions for supplying drugs, as had Shaun Davidson-King, 29, of Valley Road, Park Village, who was sentenced to five years and eight months for both offences to run concurrently,

Miss Jennifer Josephs, prosecuting, talked the court through the 23 meetings the officers had with the dealers.

Nine of the defendants admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, namely heroin and crack cocaine, while Michael O'Keefe, 29, of Priory Road, Dudley, was found guilty by a trial. He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for both sentences to run concurrently

Lee Dwight, 33, of Ellerton Walk, Park Village, was sentenced to three years and four months, and also pleaded guilty to production of cannabis, for which he was given a two-month sentence to run concurrently.

Adam Walker, 27, of Hampton View, Heath Town, was also sentenced to three years and four months, and also admitted to conspiracy to supply cannabis, and was given a two-year sentence to run concurrently. Alan Brough, 30, of no fixed address, was given a 12-month sentence to run consecutively with a five-year sentence he is currently serving for another matter.

Shane Dhanda, 23, of Aston Road, Willenhall, was sentenced to three years and four months for both matters concurrently, while Antonio Gambone, 29, of Myrtle Street, Parkfields, was given two years and eight months to run concurrently on both counts.

Scott Reed, 26, of Stowheath Lane, East Park, and Adam Spencer, 29, of Long Knowle Lane, Wednesfield, were said to have played a minor role in the conspiracy and were given 18-month community orders including 150 hours unpaid work.

Police had raided the home of a former partner of Jackson and found the kitchen worktop set up for bagging up drugs. Miss Josephs added: "Police found large numbers of wraps, and each was put into a collection ready for them to be taken out to supply." She said there was 184 wraps of heroin, 167 wraps of crack cocaine, four bags of cannabis weighing roughly an ounce, and £4,000 of cash found in the house.

Between October 29, 2012 and March 20, 2013, almost 11,000 calls or texts were received by the D-line from 519 different numbers. Judge Farrar said: "That is many calls and it is impossible to quantify how many of these were about drugs other than saying that." Mr Anthony Bell, for Jackson, said of the head of the group: "He has not got a good record by any means. There is no evidence of him cutting the drugs to provide larger quantities which indicates a lack of sophistication."

Mr Bell said Jackson's father was involved in a charity called Guns and Gangs, which spends time working against organised crime. Jon Roe, for Dwight, said his client was technically a driver and not a dealer, but accepted that he played a substantial role in the operation.

Mr Arvind Sharma, for Davidson-King, said: "He voluntarily handed himself in and has been in custody ever since."

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