A gang who plotted to smuggle £4.5million of Class A drugs between Merseyside and Hampshire were caught out by their mobile phones.
William Marsh, of Rock Lane, Melling, was the ringleader of the crime ring, who arranged to flood the streets of Southampton with wholesale amounts of heroin and cocaine - via Liverpool - between March and May 2021.
The 36-year-old appeared before Southampton Crown Court on Thursday 27 April along with the rest of the gang, who were jailed for a combined total of more than 50 years. The court heard how the gang members kept in contact via messaging apps on a series of mobile devices which were seized by police.
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Detailed analysis of the phones and surveillance evidence allowed detectives to piece together the whole conspiracy and identify all of those involved and the roles they each played.
A total of £500,000 worth of drugs were seized by police from a number of addresses in the Southampton area, along with a large quantity of benzocaine – a cutting agent to increase profits. Messages recovered from phones linked to the gang revealed that every five weeks, approximately 1.5kg of heroin and 1.2kg of cocaine were being supplied in the city.
Officers seized 1.4kg of heroin and 1.4kg of cocaine - with a street value of £440,000. They also recovered 12kg of benzocaine alongside 2kg of a paracetamol and caffeine powder mixture.
A total of £19,000 in cash and the phone that showed the contact between those in Southampton, and Marsh in Merseyside, were also seized from a property in Wavell Road. In June 2021, a further search was conducted at an address in Mandela Way, Southampton, where £17,000 of cocaine and heroin was seized, along with a further 12kg of benzocaine, more than £40,000 cash and a cash counter.
Marsh was arrested in Merseyside in September 2021 and found guilty by a jury of conspiring to supply Class A drugs.
Sentencing the gang, High Court judge Mr Justice Henry said their actions - especially their use of benzocaine if mixed with similar amounts of cocaine "could have resulted in supplying approximately 48kg of cocaine on the streets of Southampton in the future".
This would have given a street value of the drugs worth more than £4.5 million. Marsh was jailed for 15 years for his part in the conspiracy and given a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years following his release from prison.
Three other men were found guilty following a trial for the following offences:
- Andrew Bruce Dingwall, 31, of St. Francis Avenue, Southampton was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was jailed for six years.
- Jack Stanley, 29, of Mandela Way, Southampton was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was jailed for five years.
- Rudie Boy Stanley, 19, of Mandela Way, Southampton, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was sentenced to two years; suspended for two years.
At an earlier hearing at Southampton Crown Court Isaac Williams-McLean, 28, of Warlock Close, Southampton and Jimmy Stanley, 27, of Mandela Way, Southampton both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. They were both jailed for 10 years each.
Callum David Mark Gover, 23, of no fixed abode also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for five years. Gover had also pleaded guilty to being in possession of a Class A drugs worth between £1,600 - £2,000 in January 2023 whilst on court bail; he was sentenced to a further three years for this offence and is to be served consecutively.
Detective Constable Amy Speed of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Complex Investigation Support Unit, said: “We hope that the sentencing passed by the judge sends out a clear and stark message to those currently involved in drug supply, or those that are considering it, across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
“We are absolutely clear that we do not tolerate any form of drug-supply, or the associated criminal exploitation or drug-related harm, that comes with committing these offences. Organised criminal gangs, as was the case in this instance, or individuals who are going out intending to distribute quantities of drugs on the streets of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will be found and will be stopped.
“We will continue to deal robustly with those that continue to cause harm to our communities; working with local and national partners in order to place those responsible in front of the criminal justice system and for justice to be served.
“In sentencing these men for the crimes they have committed, not only are they behind bars – some for a considerable amount of time – and off the streets so that they can no longer cause harm to our local communities; it also ensures that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight remains a safe place to live and work.”
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