Three jailed for running 'corrosive' drugs line

From left to right: Curtis Coburn, 25, Karl Richardson, 36 and Zack Wildman, 27

Three men involved in a “corrosive” drugs operation between Somerset and Manchester have been jailed.

Police seized heroin and crack cocaine worth £1,200 from a hotel room in Bridgwater on 22 February.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Curtis Coburn, 25, Karl Richardson, 36, and Zack Wildman, 27, all from Greater Manchester, were all involved in the supply of Class A drugs.

A 17-year-old boy who also admitted supplying class A drugs will be sentenced at a youth court at a later date.

Avon and Somerset Police became involved when officers got information that Coburn, who was wanted from his own area, was staying at a hotel in Bridgwater.

A search of the hotel room uncovered cocaine and heroin.

Wildman was later arrested at a home in Greater Manchester the next day along with Richardson and a 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age.

A further police investigation uncovered a mobile phone being used as part of their drugs operation.

“The sentences given are a reflection of how seriously these offences are treated by the courts," said Det Sgt Stuart Hassell.

"Three men are now behind bars for their role in this corrosive and illegal enterprise and we’ve stopped a quantity of dangerous drugs from causing misery in our communities.”

Coburn was given a seven-year prison sentence after being found guilty of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and being in possession of a controlled class B drug.

Richardson has been jailed for two years and three months after he admitted being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Wildman also admitted he was concerned in the supply of class A drugs and was handed a three-year sentence.