Drug gang jailed over £1.5m Skegness cocaine supply racket

(L to r, top): Jumaid Mulla, Lewis Greenwood, Carl Benham, Darryl Greenwood. (L to r, bottom) Kyle Sutton, Karl Gamble, Jamie Benham, and John Queenan

Members of a drug gang which "infested" a seaside resort with up to £1.5m worth of cocaine have been jailed.

Eleven men and one woman were involved in moving up to 15kg (33lbs) of the class A drug into Skegness from Leicestershire.

Nine men were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

Three other gang members were sentenced in April and June, having also admitted their part in the conspiracy.

The investigation, which was led by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), uncovered 18 occasions in a seven-month period, between September 2019 and June 2020, when the gang brought drugs into the town.

The cocaine was transported via couriers between the two counties by two groups, with the drugs then distributed to dealers, police said.

Lincolnshire Police said Jumaid Mulla was the gang's "upstream supplier" and was jailed for 11 years.

Lewis Greenwood and his father, Darryl Greenwood, who police said ran the Leicester end of the operation, were jailed for 11 years and one month and for seven years respectively.

Carl Benham, who led the Lincolnshire group, was sent to prison for 11 years and one month.

The sentences

• Jumaid Mulla, 44, of Uppingham Road, Leicester, was jailed for 11 years

• Lewis Greenwood, 36, of Morningside Drive, Skegness, was jailed for 11 years, one month

• Carl Benham, 37, of Scarborough Avenue, Skegness, was jailed for 11 years, one month

• Darryl Greenwood, 61, of The Wayne Way, Leicester, was jailed for seven years

• Kyle Sutton, 32, of Bowhill Way, Leicester, was jailed for four years, nine months

• Karl Gamble, 40, of Randles Close, Leicester, was jailed for four years, six months

• Jamie Benham, 39, of Station Road, Sutton on Sea, Lincolnshire, was jailed for four years, three months

• John Queenan, 40, of Bishop Tozer Close, Burgh Le Marsh, Lincolnshire, was jailed for three years, two months

• Ben Dunn, 25, of Oak Drive, Syston, Leicester, received 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 200 hours of community service

Three others pleaded guilty and were sentenced in April and June:

• Thomas Mitchell, 37, of Alexandra Road, Skegness, was jailed for two years, suspended for 12 months

• Gareth Lambert, 31, of Hebden Drive, Leicester, was jailed for 22 months, suspended for 24 months

• Charlene Benham, 35, of Knowle Street, Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, was jailed for nine months, suspended for 24 months

Det Ch Insp Gemma Smith said the group had exploited the draw of Skegness to "infest this popular family tourist destination with the addiction, violence and associated crime such illicit drugs bring".

"I am pleased the sentences reflect the level of threat this group's criminality presented," she added.

She also praised the investigation team for their "tenacity and determination to bring justice and protect the public, despite the upheaval Covid brought to the case".