Drug gang jailed and £13m haul seized

Jordan Stoker received the largest sentence of all the County Durham-based gang

A gang which imported millions of pounds worth of illegal drugs into the north-east of England has been jailed.

The operation involved drug mules carrying Class A and B drugs from Thailand to County Durham, the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) said.

Jordan Stoker, 30, from Coundon, received the largest prison sentence with the judge at Teesside Crown Court handing him a 19-year term.

Among the other nine people sentenced were three brothers who allowed their County Durham home to be used as a safe house, couriers from Sheffield and Wigan and Stoker's parents.

A NEROCU spokesman said the gang's couriers were flying to Thailand to collect and bring back drugs.

Under the codename Operation Box, the unit worked with UK Border Force to identify the gang, the spokesman said.

Brothers Christopher, Ian and Shaun Sowerby ran a safe house for the gang

The Sowerby brothers Christopher, 30, Ian, 32, and Shaun, 37, operated a safe house for the drug operation where both cocaine and cannabis were being stored for onward distribution, NEROCU said.

Matthew Goodwin, 25, and Trelawny Brown, 31, were identified as drug mules who travelled to Thailand, while Stoker's father, 48-year-old Brian, and associate Paul Lamb, 45, helped the couriers get to and from the airport, the spokesman said.

Brian Stoker and Sarah Leighton were also convicted

Stoker's mother Sarah Leighton, 48, and half-brother Ethan Smith, 23, were involved in the counting and storage of cash made from the group's criminality, the spokesman added.

Some £280,000 in cash, 1.3 tonnes of cannabis and more than 30kg of cocaine were also seized, with the drugs having an estimated street value of almost £13m.

Paul Lamb and Trelawny Brown received jail sentences for their part in the operation

The defendants, who all admitted offences including conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on importation controlled drugs, were:

• Jordan Stoker, of Hambleton Road, Coundon, jailed for 19 years

• Brian Stoker, of Birch Avenue, Shildon, jailed for five years two months

• Paul Lamb, of McCullagh Gardens, Bishop Auckland, jailed for seven years two months

• Christopher Sowerby, of Teesdale Walk, Shildon, jailed for 13 years one month

• Shaun Sowerby, of Teesdale Walk, Shildon, jailed for 13 years one month

• Ian Sowerby, of Teesdale Walk, Shildon, jailed for 10 years 10 months

• Matthew Goodwin, of Kinnaird House, Curtis Street, Wigan, jailed for three years nine months

• Trelawny Brown, of Leedham Close, Sheffield, jailed for three years four months

Investigators seized almost £13m of drugs

Sarah Leighton and Ethan Smith, both of Queen Street, Shildon, admitted money laundering and were jailed for 22 months and 18 months respectively, both suspended for two years.