Leicester gang members jailed for parts in major drug-dealing ring

Junior Thompson, Zak Simmons, Jake McGoldrick and Kyle Owen all admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs

Members of a Leicester-based gang have been jailed for their parts in a UK-wide drug-dealing operation.

Detectives said the men were involved in supplying "industrial amounts" of cocaine and heroin between January and September 2020.

Police said the operation was broken up following a major investigation already leading to 22 men receiving jail terms totalling more than 200 years.

Four more defendants were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday.

• Junior Thompson, 35, of Sandhurst Road, Leicester, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for three counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin.

• Zak Simmons, 29, of Edgecote Drive, Newhall, near Swadlincote, Derbyshire, received eight years and eight months imprisonment for two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin.

• Jake McGoldrick, 33, of Guthridge Crescent, Leicester, was sentenced to eight years and three months for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

• Kyle Owen, 36, of Prince Albert Drive, Glenfield, was sentenced to five years and three months imprisonment for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

All the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges at earlier hearings.

The police's East Midlands Special Operation Unit (EMSOU) said the dealers had used the encrypted chat platform Encrochat to arrange drug movements and evade arrest.

However officers got a breakthrough in April 2020 when the platform was dismantled following a major international police operation.

'Vast scale'

EMSOU said data recovered from the platform showed the "vast scale" of the offending, stretching the length and breadth of the UK and across international boundaries.

Officers said the evidence showed a Cheshire-based group were responsible for distributing dozens of kilograms of class A drugs into a Leicester-based group including Thompson.

Thompson had used a fully liveried delivery van to transport Class A drugs across the United Kingdom for a number of different crime groups, police said.

The Leicester-based group would in turn supply a number of other individuals, including Owen, Simmons and McGoldrick who had significant customer bases of their own for onward supply of Class A drugs, officers said.

Det Insp Chris Sewell, from EMSOU, said: "This was a huge investigation which ultimately led to large amounts of cash and class A drugs being recovered during police enforcement across 2020 and 2021.

"Arrests were made at various stages and locations across the length and breadth of the UK as well as abroad."