Drug Traffickers Jailed

2 July 2010, 17:07 | Updated: 2 July 2010, 17:12

Four men from Bournemouth have been jailed for a total of 42 years for drugs trafficking.

They were part of a gang that imported and sold a quarter of a billion pounds worth of cocaine a year across Dorset, South Wales and Kent.

Nine of the ten men were sentenced today, Friday, 2 July 2010, at Cardiff Crown Court.

Craig Blake was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months.

Gareth Davies was sentenced to 12 years.

Michael Green was sentenced to 9 years.

Matthew Howgate was sentenced to 5 years.

Police arrested them after a two and a half year investigation which began in September 2007, when SOCA officers identified links between the supply of drugs in South Wales and people in Kent and Dorset.

A detailed investigation showed that the organised crime gang was made up of three separate groups, based in Bournemouth, Kent and the Swansea Valley area.

Detective Superintendent Mark Cooper, Dorset Police’s Director of Major, Serious and Organised Crime, said: "Today’s outstanding result came about after a long and complex multi-agency operation.

"Dorset Police is committed to detecting, dismantling and disrupting serious organised crime groups – at all levels – and today’s sentencing should send out a clear message that the Force works relentlessly to bring offenders to justice.

"I believe that this result reflects the seriousness of these crimes, in which the offenders showed complete disregard for the law and dealt in the misery of drugs for financial profit."

Anyone with information regarding the supply of illegal drugs should call Dorset Police in confidence on 01202 222 222 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111 where mobile phone tariffs may apply.