Drug gang jailed for 61 years

Ringleader Jonathan Hetherington, aged 32, of Castle Road, paid himself up to £28,000 a month from the profits. He was locked up for 12 years.

LSD, ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis were pushed over an 18-month period before a police surveillance operation smashed the racket in September last year, Worcester Crown Court heard yesterday.

Chay Sandford, also 32, of Birchfield Road, Kidderminster, was described by prosecutor William Davis as Hetherington's "right-hand man". He was jailed for eight years.

And Gemma Oldfield, a friend of the organiser, was secretly filmed by police as she delivered 10,000 LSD tablets worth £30,000 to a Kidderminster hotel car park.

Oldfield, 25, of Caunsall Road, Cookley, was sentenced to two years. She is currently a student at Wolverhampton University.

Four other gang members from areas including Birmingham and Burton-on-Trent were jailed for a total of 39 years.

Judge Andrew Geddes said Hetherington had ruined a promising life.

He recognised that Oldfield was "in the clutches of older men" and said Sandford was motivated by greed.

Hetherington pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply drugs.

The others were convicted by a jury after a six-week trial, while Oldfield admitted a lesser charge of being concerned in drug supply.

Mr Davis said the exact value of the racket was unknown but ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Receipts seized from Hetherington showed a projected monthly income for him alone of £28,000.