Wrexham 'county lines' drugs gang jailed

Shaun Coleman, Marvin Frantzen, Sandra Mathias and Lee Jones (bottom right)

Three people who dealt heroin and cocaine in Wrexham have been jailed as part of a crackdown on a "county lines" drug ring.

Marvin Frantzen, Shaun Coleman, and Sandra Mathias admitted two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs.

They were caught after police closed in on the network which supplied the drugs from Liverpool.

A fourth defendant, Lee Jones, was also sentenced at Mold Crown Court for his involvement.

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Police seized drugs and £40,000 cash during the operation.

Judge Timothy Petts was told how mobile phones were used to alert a list of drug users to the fact that supplies were available to buy.

When arrested, a pistol and a round of ammunition was found at the home of 26-year-old Coleman, who was jailed for 11 years.

He admitted possession of a firearm and a dangerous driving charge after driving at speeds in excess of 100mph (160km/h) in Cheshire, which saw him crash his Land Rover.

Police seized this hand gun when they arrested Shaun Coleman

The 31-year-old father of two was jailed for 14 years and 10 months. Mathias, 40, acted as a driver for the drug dealers and was jailed for four and a half years.

Jones, 39, was sentenced separately because of threats he faced from his co-defendants, the court heard.

He was given a two year-sentence, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

After the hearing, Det Insp Mark Hughes of North Wales Police, said: "The gang was prepared to use violence and intimidation, but the operation shows that north Wales is not a soft target for criminals like this who do so much damage to our communities."