Some of the most horrific crimes in the North East are committed by gangs.
Police investigations into gang-related crime are often incredibly complex and can involve officers going undercover and months of hard work before making arrests. However, when the arrests eventually come through, it can take dangerous people off the streets of the North East.
Several gang-related crimes have gone before courts in 2022 and some of those found guilty have been locked up for their crimes. Here are some of the gangs to have been convicted so far this year.
Read more: Newcastle drug dealer's erratic driving revealed he had cocaine and cannabis sweets worth £48,000
Armed gang pointed gun at dad's head in wrong house
In February, members of an armed gang pointed an airgun at the head of an innocent dad after tuning up at the wrong house. Michael Kirton, 30, of Tebay Drive, West Denton; James Boyle, 31, of Clara Street, Benwell; and Anthony Rice, 37, of Hillside Avenue, Denton; had apparently wanted to "warn" a drug dealer who had been "selling drugs to a child" in May 2019.
However, the trio got the wrong address and instead knocked on the door of an innocent family who were seeking asylum in the UK. Boyle and Rice were jailed, while Kirton received a suspended sentence.
Sunderland heroin and cannabis drug gang
Seven members of a narcotics ring were jailed for a total of more than 33 years in March after the culmination of a large-scale police operation which seized heroin, cash and luxury cars. More than 160 officers from across the North of England joined forces in part of a co-ordinated crackdown aimed at dismantling a criminal operation which saw 15 properties raided.
That included the home of ringleader Leighton Hackett, 37, of Hesledon, near Hartlepool; whose "despicable" drugs enterprise was causing "misery for residents not only on Wearside, but on Merseyside and beyond, according to Detective Inspector Brian Smith.
South Shields "Big Time Charlies"
An undercover police officer feared for his safety when a South Shields drug gang member pulled out a handgun during a cocaine deal. Nessar Ali, 23, of Wallington Road South produced an imitation fire arm during the deal.
In another deal, Ali, along with Aaron Momat, 29, of Alice Street South Shields; and Christopher Scurfield, 42, of Rowland Street, Washington; sold £10,000 of cocaine. In March, Ali and Scurfield were jailed for five years, while Momat was given 40 months in prison - a fourth member of the gang, Santino Welsh, was set to be sentenced at a later date.
In November, it was reported that two members of the gang, Ali and Momat, would only have to repay a fraction of the money they earned from selling drugs.
Crime gang with trap door van
A drugs gang who used a van with a secret trap door an encrypted phones to ship cocaine and amphetamine onto North East streets were jailed for a total of 47 years in April. 52-year-old John Allcock, of Hillmeadows, Willington, County Durham was the head of the organised crime group and was locked up for 21 years along with five members of his North East-based gang who got sentences ranging from one year to 13.
Paul Marrow, 62, of Rainford Road in Dentons Green Merseyside, was jailed for 11 years as a courier the following month. £180,000-worth of pure cocaine had been hidden in a secret trapdoor in his van, which was stopped on the A1 in Durham in 2017.
David Lindsay and Ryan O'Connor
In May, a drug gang leader's driver joined him behind bars for his role in potting to flood the North East with heroin and cocaine. David Lindsay was roped into helping Ryan O'Connor to pay off his son's drug debts. 61-year-old Lindsay, of Ellison Villas, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.
Lindsay's sentencing followed on from the drug gang leader being sentenced to 28 years in prison between them in November 2021. Ryan O'Connor, 32, of Mersey Place, Gateshead was the gang's "head honcho" and the drug ring was smashed when police infiltrated encrypted chats.
County Lines Berwick undercover police officer
In July, two women were given suspended sentences for supplying Class A drugs to an undercover police officer in Berwick. The officer had been deployed there as part of a county lines police operation.
Helen Guthrie, 49, of North Shields; and Amy Kirsopp, of Orchard Park, Kelso; were given 23 and 18 month sentences respectively, both sentenced for two years.
Cocaine and Crystal Meth
In October, three members of a drug gang were sentenced to a total of more than 27 years in prison between them. More than £5 million worth of cocaine and crystal meth were seized back in February, which was destined for organised criminal gangs who would sell the 80 kilos on.
Gentjan Dervishaj, 32, of Haig Court, Chelmsford; Khalid Raheem, 36, of Edwins Close, Barnsley; and Bernard Runaj, 43 of Oldenwood, Maidenhead; were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court. It was said that 50kg of cocaine and 30kg of crystal meth was "extremely rare" to find in such large quantities in the UK.
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