Eleven people were jailed for a combined total of 76 years after police uncovered their plot supplying heroin and crack cocaine from Merseyside to North Wales.
North Wales Police launched 'Operation Blue Kyanite' to investigate how a number of Class A drugs were finding their way onto the streets of Wrexham. The investigation led them to Levi Roberts' gang who sourced drugs from Merseyside and brought them into the town, where the head of the organised crime group was based.
With the help of at least 10 others, 28-year-old Roberts, of Royden Gardens in Wrexham, was running the "commercial scale" operation valued cumulatively in excess of £2million, North Wales Police said. When the UK was largely in national lockdown, Roberts' gang of trusted "couriers" were busy transporting "kilos" of drugs as well as wads of cash, reports NorthWalesLive.
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Significant drug seizures were made during the course of the conspiracy, including heroin and crack cocaine. In excess of £40,000 cash was also seized, as well as assets such as vehicles linked to the conspiracy.
After the sentencing at Mold Crown Court, senior investigating officer DI Mark Hughes said: “The sentences passed in relation to this case should be a strong deterrent to anyone considering any type of involvement with illegal drugs. Drugs, particularly Class A substances like cocaine and heroin, ruin lives and bring misery to users and their families.
“This investigation has dismantled an established supply network within Wrexham and that is testament to the diligent police work that went into bringing these cases to court. Many of those involved were trusted couriers for an organised crime gang and held respectable jobs outside of their criminality.
“Tackling drug supply will remain a high priority for North Wales Police. I hope that the public are reassured by these convictions and the sentences imposed.”
The details of all of those involved along with their respective sentences can be found below:
- Thomas Wright, 46, of Fairfield Avenue in Roby (10 years, eight months)
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Levi Roberts, 28, of Royden Gardens in Wrexham (10 years)
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Haydn Griffiths, 60, of Cefn Road in Wrexham (eight years, six months)
- Robert Martin Reid, 38, of St David’s Crescent in Wrexham (six years, six months)
- Mehmet Ali Karadas, 49, of Kingstown in Wrexham (six years, six months)
- Cial Edward Prandle, 30, of Peris in Plas Madoc (six years, six months)
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Paul Wilbraham, 51, of Blantern Way in Wrexham (six years, six months)
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Kevin Barry David Roberts, 44, of Plas Gwyn in Wrexham (six years, four months)
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Julie Prile, 46, of Coed Efa in New Broughton (five years)
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Craig Roberts, 40, of Bryn Gwyn in Wrexham (five years)
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Jamie Wright, 22, of Hampden Way in Acrefair (four years, six months)
Levi Roberts was labelled as the head of the gang. At his sentencing, the court heard how he was responsible for causing "incalculable harm" over the course of the year-long operation.
Defending Roberts, Phil Tully, told the court he accepted a lengthy spell of custody awaited him. Although he was, effectively, the local gang's head he wasn't the top of the chain - and therefore would also "get his hands dirty", the court heard.
He played a "hands-on role" as a street dealer, but would also prepare drugs for sale and made trips to and from Liverpool. The dad-of-five continued with his commercial-scale enterprise, even after the police were "onto" him, proving just how irresistible the "profitable" venture was.
He stood up and told his family he loved them after he was jailed for ten years. The court heard members of Roberts' family were more than willing to help with the enterprise. Two of his uncles formed part of the gang , playing "significant" roles, prosecutor Ember Wong said.
Craig Roberts, 40, "did not stop and think" much during his time with the conspiracy, the court heard. In his limited time with the gang, he handled both cash and drugs. He was jailed for five years.
Judge Parry said Roberts was caught with his co-accused brother Kevin Roberts, who was jailed previously, when the police intercepted nearly £100k worth of heroin that they were delivering. He had also met one of the Liverpool-based conspirators to hand off bundles of cash.
Thomas Wright, of Fairfield Avenue, Roby, was branded as the "upstream supplier" for Levi Roberts. The 44-year-old - who sourced "kilos upon kilos" of hard drugs for the gang to shift in the Wrexham area - was jailed for 10 years.
Julie Prile, of Coed Efa in New Broughton, was responsible for ferrying shipments of cash between Wrexham, Liverpool and Northwich in Cheshire. The 44-year-old's phone revealed she had been involved in the conspiracy from the start and she hit her head on the dock as she found out she'd be jailed for five years.
