Nine members of organised criminal groups (OCGs) who were operating out of Nottinghamshire and two other counties have been jailed for 58 years between them. The drugs networks, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, also operated across three Lincolnshire and Lancashire locations and made almost £20,000 in less than 60 days.
One of the OCGs, dubbed the Django Line, was responsible for bringing drugs from stash houses in Nottingham into Lincoln and dealing in the High Street and other areas. The gang would send out mass marketing messages to addicts, or potential customers with drugs advertised in code.
A handgun was also found at a stash house in Nottingham, which Noman Hassan, 25, of Bentinck Road, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to possessing. Other weapons including a zombie knife, lock knives, and machetes were also found at another property in Nottingham.
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The eight men and one woman were members of competing OCGs running County Lines operations in the city centre during 2020 and 2021. In all cases, a ‘drugs phone line’ was used to take orders and arrange deliveries, with members across the country playing different roles including supplying, sourcing, storing or selling the Class A drugs.
During warrants carried out at a flat rented by Kelvin Tutani, 27, of Yarborough Road, Lincoln, a shortened shotgun was found. Evidence showed both he and Babatunde Omotade, 27, of HMP Lincoln, had handled the weapon.
In some cases, mass marketing text messages with comments such as “Try before ya buy”[sic] were sent out to drug users or potential buyers. Another of the gangs sentenced, dubbed the Jimmy Line, was involved in the supply of hundreds of thousands of pounds of Class A drugs across two counties in the UK during September 2020 and June 2021.
One of the members, Ryan Williams, 33, of Acregate Digmoor, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, coordinated the supply of the drugs from his seven-bedroom house while another, Roberts Sokolovs, 22, of HMP Lincoln, bragged about his exploits by referring to himself as the “Latvian Pablo Escobar”, in reference to the Columbian drug lord.
During warrants issued at addresses of those involved in the Jimmy Line, more than £27,000 cash – some stashed in bundles in a rucksack – was seized, along with a variety of weapons. Criminal property, including clothing, jewellery, handbags and electrical goods were also seized from Williams’ Lancashire home. It is estimated that between September 2020 and May 2021, the OCG would have made up to £104,220 from their Lincoln drug deals.
All members of both gangs faced charges of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs or being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, and some faced additional charges of possession of criminal property and offensive weapons.
Superintendent Phil Baker, from Lincolnshire Police, said: “Our operation – Operation Stabilise – was launched following an emerging intelligence picture that drug dealing in Lincoln city centre was becoming prolific. At times, dealers were conducting brazen deals during the day in the High Street, and there were also violent altercations between multiple members of different gangs over ‘territory’, posing a risk to the public.
“Investigations found that there were multiple OCGs operating and dealing drugs in the city centre, as well as several lone operators. We wanted to combat this prolific County Lines activity and the associated crime that drug dealing brings; there are very clear links between drug dealing and crimes such as burglary, robbery, and other violent offences.
“This is a blight on our communities, and it leads to a very real risk that children and vulnerable people will be coerced into running drugs by gangs. Make no mistake about the level of complete selfishness and disregard for the lives ruined by those supplying and dealing the drugs.
"Some of those sentenced led lavish lifestyles, spending thousands on designer clothes, watches or gadgets while the people they exploited to traffic drugs, or those using them, were often living lives far removed from that luxury.
“This operation was an enormous police effort, and these sentences are the culmination of thousands of operational hours, and a real determination to rise to the challenge of taking dangerous drug dealers and associates off our streets. I am incredibly proud of the dedication, sheer determination and professionalism of all our investigators who have delivered these outstanding results.
The ten-month operation was a Force-wide effort in partnership with the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), including PCs, intelligence officers, detectives, armed response officers, forensics units, police staff, investigators and analysts.
In June last year, 47 warrants were carried out at properties in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lancashire resulting in the charge and conviction of 46 people for their part in the criminal conspiracies which led to the city centre dealing. In total, 45 guilty pleas were obtained and one person was found guilty after trial for money laundering.
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