Gang jailed over £1m cocaine business in Lincolnshire

Clockwise from top left: Sheraz Mohammed, Nicky Joseph, Martin Marsh, Jason Bloor, Mohammed Ali, Matthew Creese, Johnathon Kendrick, Johnathon Kendrick, Joshua Wong, Paul Webb, Mohammed Waqar, Lee Syndercombe and Amandeep Singh

A further 12 members of a gang responsible for bringing cocaine worth more than £1m into Lincolnshire have been jailed.

The drugs were couriered into the county from Sheffield and Essex, and sold on the streets of Boston, Skegness and Spalding.

Lincoln Crown Court heard some was so pure it was believed to be "straight off the boat" from South America.

Those convicted on Friday were jailed for between six and 15 years.

A total of 25 people were sentenced in connection with the supply of cocaine, 24 of them jailed.

John Hallissey, prosecuting, said between January 2017 and June 2018 cocaine was brought in from Sheffield on at least 17 occasions.

A kilo of the drug, worth about £50,000, was believed to have been delivered on each journey.

The Sheffield supply chain overlapped with a drug supply network based in Skegness, and there was a separate - but linked - supply chain from Essex, he added.

The cocaine was brought in from Sheffield and Essex and sold on the streets of Boston, Skegness and Spalding

The operation in Sheffield and Essex was operated by Sheraz Mohammed and Nicky Joseph, with Martin Murphy and Daniel Beeken, who were jailed on Thursday, responsible for the onward supply into Lincolnshire.

Judge John Pini described the operation as a "wholesale business, professionally run for very significant profits".

Commenting after the hearing, Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin, from the National Police Chief Council, welcomed the sentences, but called for more to be done to help those dependant on illicit drugs.

He said this was the only way to prevent other dealers "simply filling the void left".

The defendants and sentences:

• Sheraz Mohammed , 42, of Prince of Wales Road, Sheffield, was jailed for 15 years and nine months for conspiracy to supply.

• Nicky Joseph, 40, of Eden Court, Rochford, Essex, was jailed for 13 years and six months for conspiracy to supply.

• Martin Marsh, 33, of Beck Bank, Quadring Fen, was jailed for 12 years and seven months for conspiracy to supply.

• Jason Bloor, 39, of Church Lane, Skegness, was jailed for 11 years and six months for conspiracy to supply.

• Mohammed Ali, 31, of Horndean Road, Sheffield, was jailed for 11 years and three months for conspiracy to supply.

• Matthew Creese, 35, of Clough Road, Gosberton Risegate, was jailed for 10 years and eight months for conspiracy to supply. He was also convicted of sexual assault on a child under the age of 13.

• Johnathon Kendrick, 39, St Laurence Close, Surfleet, was jailed for 10 years and six months for conspiracy to supply.

• Joshua Wong, 29, of Ward Cresent, Fishtoft, was jailed for nine years and seven months for conspiracy to supply.

• Paul Webb, 34, of Linchfield Road, Market Deeping, was jailed for nine years for conspiracy to supply.

• Mohammed Waqar, 32, of Firth Park Crescent, Sheffield, was jailed for seven years and nine months for conspiracy to supply.

• Lee Syndercombe, 33, of Edinburgh Drive, Kirton, Boston, was jailed for seven years and three months for conspiracy to supply.

• Amandeep Singh, 41, of Ridgmount Street, Bedford, was jailed for six years for conspiracy to supply.