Man used tyre business to legitimise drug gang

Darren Newlands, 44, has been jailed for 20 years

A businessman who played a key role in a multimillion-pound drug operation has been jailed for 20 years.

Darren Newlands, 44, used his business Wiltshire Tyres to give a false employment contract and legitimise a salary for Warren Allison, who was convicted of running a drugs gang with his brother Kelroy Allison in February.

Newlands, of Newman Road in Devizes, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Friday, after being found guilty of conspiring to supply cocaine between 2016 and 2020.

Wiltshire Police said the sentence marked the end of its investigation into a network which shipped more than 70kg (11st) of cocaine - worth £5.6m to £7m - across the South West of England.

Newlands "employed" Warren Allison in 2015, paying him a monthly salary in return for money to disguise the relationship between them, Wiltshire Police said.

Warren Allison then used this income on several luxury purchases, including a Lamborghini Huracan and an Audi RS6, the force added.

Newlands purchased at least 5kg of cocaine from the Allison brothers on several occasions, which he then sold to other drug suppliers, police said.

Police said brothers Warren (L) & Kelroy (R) Allison were the leaders of the group

Det Con Matthew Harvey said the salary payments and business contract were "nothing more than a façade to conceal the criminal activities of Newlands and Allison".

Following community intelligence, the gang was caught on 3 November 2020, when members met up with Albanian drug supplier Ledian Hoxha in London.

The group had brokered a deal to supply 4kg of cocaine later that day but Newlands and the others were arrested and police seized the drugs and two encrypted phones.

Eight people were jailed in February for their roles in the operation.