Four members of a County Lines drugs gang, who supplied hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of drugs in to Swindon, have been jailed for a total of nearly 23 years.
The men, working for a London gang, sold crack cocaine and heroin in to Swindon between December 2016 and August 2017 as part of the 'Alex' County Line; a total of five men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Swindon Crown Court last month (November 2019).
Officers estimate the drugs sold could have been worth anything between £266,000 and £665,000.
The men jailed today (20/12):
Jay Dodson (28) from Montgomery Avenue, Pinehurst, Swindon - received four years and six months
Shane Drew (31) from London - five years and eight months
Andre Hewitt (28) from Grays, Essex - 11 years (this includes a separate robbery in Birmingham)
Jacob Turley (21) from Cambria Place, Swindon - two years and two months (including a possession of cannabis offence which he pleaded guilty to).
Jason Stiggers (22) of no fixed address also appeared today but his sentencing has been deferred until a date to be fixed in the new year.
Det Con Gareth Snoad from Wiltshire Police's Dedicated Crime Team, said: "This is a great result. Smashing this particular County Line sends a strong message to any dangerous drug network targeting Swindon and Wiltshire, we may appear as easy targets but we're not and you are not welcome here.
"These dangerous individuals preyed on vulnerable young people and adults in Swindon, pushing hard drugs on to people who found it impossible to say no. Those people will be getting help from us and our partners.
"Drug supply doesn't just affect those who take the drugs themselves, it also has far reaching effects on friends and families of the drug user as well as members of the public who can become victims of burglary and robbery which helps funds the drug user's habit.
"Today's sentencing also shows the amount of effort we as a police force are putting in to close these lines down and the drug networks down and that work won't stop."
A further two men involved in this case were sentenced on Wednesday 4 December at Swindon Crown Court; Shaquille McAdam (25) from London and David Watkins-Rudman (33) from Swindon pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs between December 2016 and August 2017. This takes the total number of men convicted for this case to seven.
McAdam was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to complete 240 hours unpaid work and up to 15 days of rehabilitation activity.
Watkins-Rudman had his sentence deferred for three months. He must stay in employment, keep out of trouble, comply with instruction from the probation service and maintain contact with addiction and health services.
If you have information about drug dealing in your area there are options available for reporting. You can call us on 101 or 999 in an emergency or go to www.wiltshire.police.uk where you can report anonymously.
Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit the young people's website Fearless.org
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