Wolverhampton men jailed over £300k Colombian cocaine conspiracy

The eight were arrested last summer after police kept secret watch on their activities as two high purity consignments of one kilo each - together worth a total of up to £300,000 on the street - arrived in Gloucestershire from Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

The men from Wolverhampton acted as couriers in the gang.

Kenneth Bailey, 62, of Magnolia Court, Wolverhampton, who admitted one charge, was jailed for four years ten months, while Thomas Williams, 53, of Sedgley Road, Wolverhampton, received a three-and-a-half year sentence.

Passing sentence on the gang, the judge said "There were two conspiracies here. They involved the transfer of high quality cocaine from Birmingham and Luton, via Wolverhampton, of 80-plus percent purity. It was almost certainly untouched since it came off the boat from Colombia.

"These were busy conspiracies and it would be wrong to suggest that the two kilos we have heard about were all that was involved."

One of the ringleaders Omar Hassanjee, 35, formerly of Gloucester but now of Hall Green, Birmingham, pleaded not guilty to being involved in one of the conspiracies but was convicted by a jury in January. He was jailed for ten years at Gloucester Crown Court today.

The other leading player, Marcus Campbell, 36, of Linton Ave, Kingsway, Gloucester, who was an old school friend of Hassanjee's, admitted two charges of conspiracy to supply drugs and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

The only other defendant involved in both plots, father of two Sonny Curran, 27, of Rye Avenue, Cheltenham, received a sentence of five years three months. He had also admitted both conspiracy charges. Judge Jamie Tabor QC said he had played a key role as a 'fetcher and carrier' of drugs.

Mark Douglas, 51, of St Swithun's Road, Hempsted, Gloucester, who also had a key organisational role as Campbell's right hand man, was jailed for seven years - a sentence which reflected a previous drug supply conviction in 2009. He had admitted one conspiracy charge.

Sonny Curran's father, Patrick, 55, of New Barn Avenue, Prestbury, Cheltenham, who helped his son with the transporting and exchanging of drugs and cash, was jailed for four years two months. The judge said his sentence took into account his bad criminal record including previous convictions for drug supply in 2000 and 2004.

The final defendant, Amar Amin, 36, of Noel Road, Birmingham, who worked as a courier for Hassanjee, was jailed for three years eight months after he also admitted one conspiracy.

Earlier the judge had watched video footage of the carefully co-ordinated meetings between couriers and other members of the gang in Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Prosecutor Simon Burns said Hassanjee and Campbell were "the leaders of an established, highly organised drug syndicate sourcing wholesale quantities of cocaine from Birmingham and Wolverhampton."

He went on "It ran during the summer of last year - the Wolverhampton to Gloucestershire part in May and June and the Birmingham to Gloucestershire part from May to July."