October 9, 2013 2.41 pm This story is over 124 months old

Six years jail for Lincoln man for drugs supply

Jail time: A Lincoln couple have been sentenced to almost 10 years in prison over intent to supply Class A drugs in the county.

A Lincoln man has been sentenced to six years jail for possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, along burglary offences.

Lincolnshire Police arrested the man and his partner in Operation Grittar, a campaign to crack down on groups who engage in drug crime along the Lincolnshire coast.

James Thomas Kitchen (32), of Greetwell Road in Lincoln, and his partner at the time, Mary Jane Wilson (34), of Beaumont Leys in Leicester, were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court this week.

Kitchen will serve six years at HMP Lincoln for possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, plus other burglary offences.

Meanwhile Wilson was sentenced to 5 1/2 years at HMP Peterborough for the acquisition/ possession of criminal property.

Since October 2012, through Operation Grittar several people have been charged with possession or the intent to supply drugs in the county.

The campaign has mainly focused on homes in Skegness, Mablethorpe and Chapel St Leonards, which will continue to be subject to police focus.

Heroin, cannabis, mobile phones, and significant amounts of cash have been seized and confiscated.

DCI Steve Taylor said: “The towns along Lincolnshire’s coastline are family resorts where people come to enjoy themselves in safety.

“This operation focuses on a minority of individuals who seek to blight our communities by trading in Class A drugs whilst also instigating unacceptable levels of violence.

“We will not tolerate those who commit such offences.

“My specialist officers and I will continue to robustly disrupt these groups and bring offenders to justice until drug dealing and its associated violence is eradicated from our streets.”