September 12, 2018 4.21 pm This story is over 75 months old

Town councillor embroiled in Lincoln drug operation

The raid took place in Lincoln’s Bailgate

Former town councillor Sharon Hopkinson lost her licence for The White Hart Hotel in Gainsborough earlier this month.

A Gainsborough Town councillor and local business owner was among eight people guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine in Lincoln.

Sharon Hopkinson, 45, of the White Hart Hotel in Gainsborough, who also serves on the town council, was found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court on September 11 for offences that took place between April 30, 2015 and July 1, 2016.

Norman Foreshaw, 39, also of the White Hart Hotel, was one of those named after the raid at an address in Lincoln’s Bailgate.

Mr Foreshaw was also found guilty of a second intention to supply heroin and cocaine between July 31 2016 and September 2 2016.

It is understood that Sharon Hopkinson is considering her position on Gainsborough Town Council, but when Lincolnshire Reporter contacted her for a response she declined to comment.

Leader for Gainsborough Town Council Matt Boles told Lincolnshire Reporter: “The simple rules of councils are if a councillor is sentenced to a prison term they automatically forfeit their position as a councillor.

“Whether she resigns before that is purely a personal matter for her. I have spoken to a monitor at West Lindsey District Council, but this is an investigation outside the council’s remit, it is a police investigation.”

As previously reported, the operation centred around a property on Bailgate, which was being used to prepare signifiant quantities of Class A drugs for onward sale in the Lincoln area.

During a raid at the address, large quantities of heroin and cocaine were found and officers also discovered cutting agents, a hydraulic press and heat sealing equipment, which was used to bulk out the drugs and repress them in order to maximise profit.

The other six people found guilty were:

  • Roger Bayes, 48 of Keddington Avenue, Lincoln
  • James Hewitson, 36 of High Street, Leadenham
  • Charlie Murray, 28 and Elon Williams, 24, both of Washington Street Hull – they pleaded guilty during the trial
  • Robert Sharpe, 50, of Greetwell Gate, Lincoln – pleaded guilty before trial
  • Dwan Fowler, 31, of Trent View, Lincoln – pleaded guilty before trial to conspiracy to supply cocaine between July 31 2016 and September 2 2016.

A date for sentencing has not yet been set.