Over 250 years in prison for drug gang who flooded Lincolnshire with cocaine

Drug dealers involved in bringing vast amounts of cocaine and heroin into Lincolnshire were given lengthy jail sentences at the end of a series of court cases which have taken place over several months.

Sentences passed on Friday on the final 12 defendants brought the total jail sentences imposed by Judge John Pini QC to over 250 years.

In total 25 people were sentenced in connection to the major investigation.

Lincoln Crown Court was told that organised crime groups couriered in more than £1 million worth of Class A drugs from Sheffield and Essex for sale on the streets of Boston, Spalding and Skegness with up to a kilo of cocaine a time being brought in.

Although police stopped couriers on three occasions, seizing thousands of pounds worth of drugs, the gangs had the financial backing to quickly bring in replacement stock.

Some of the drugs seized were of such high purity that police believed it was “straight off the boat” from South America.

When officers carried out a series of searches on homes in Lincolnshire, Essex and South Yorkshire they seized thousands of pounds in cash together with large amounts of drugs.

At the end of the case the Judge praised the work of the team of police officers and CPS workers involved in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Judge Pini officially commended members of the team including Det Insp Paul McMahon, who headed up the investigation, Det Sgt Ian Brooks and Det Con Lynn Foster.

He said: “These cases are absolutely exhausting for the police to put together. They involve vast amounts of work. They are time intensive and they are cost intensive.”

The judge said the work involved in investigations such as this affected the home and family lives of the officers involved and members of the team had gone well beyond what was expected.

John Hallissey, prosecuting, said consignments of cocaine were brought in from Sheffield on at least 17 occasions between January 2017 and June 2018. A kilo of the drug, with a street value of about £50,000, was believed to have been delivered on each journey. Smaller amounts were supplied from Essex during a number of trips.

“Martin Murphy and Daniel Beeken were very much the heads of the operation. Cocaine and heroin was brought in from Sheffield for onward distribution in and around Lincolnshire.”

Mr Hallissey said the operation Sheffield supply chain overlapped with a drug supply network based in Skegness and there was a separate but linked supply chain delivering from Essex.

Police intercepted deliveries on three occasions but the drug supply operation managed to continue before finally being brought to an end in the summer of 2018

Judge Pini, passing sentence, said: “This was a wholesale business which was professionally run for very significant profits.

“The evidence showed that Beeken and Murphy often worked in tandem. Both were strictly hands on. They were described in evidence as joined at the hip.”

The two men had others working for them collecting money and bringing in the drugs and below them was a network of street dealers.

On Friday, the final 12 defendants were sentenced. They were:

• Sheraz Mohammed , 42, of Prince of Wales Road, Sheffield, the head of the Sheffield supply chain, admitted one charge of conspiracy. He was jailed for 15 years and nine months
• Nicky Joseph, 40, of Eden Court, Rochford, Essex, the head of the Essex supply chain, admitted a single charge of conspiracy. He was jailed for 13 years and six months
• Martin Marsh, 33, of Beck Bank, Quadring Fen, admitted two charges of conspiracy. He was jailed for 12 years and seven months
• Jason Bloor , 39, of Church Lane, Skegness, admitted two charges of conspiracy and a further charge of possession of drugs with intent to supply. Bloor, who was head of the Skegness supply operation, was jailed for 11 years and six months
• Mohammed Ali, 31, of Horndean Road, Sheffield, admitted one charge of conspiracy. He was jailed for 11 years and three months
• Matthew Creese, 35, of Clough Road, Gosberton Risegate, admitted two charges of conspiracy and was jailed for 10 years and eight months. He was convicted by a jury earlier this week of two unconnected charges of sexual assault on a child under the age of 13 for which he was given a one year consecutive sentence. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and given a 10 year sexual harm protection order
• Johnathon Kendrick, 39, St Laurence Close, Surfleet, admitted two charges of conspiracy. He was jailed for 10 years and six months
• Joshua Wong, 29, of Ward Cresent, Fishtoft, admitted two charges of conspiracy. He was jailed for nine years and seven months
• Paul Webb, 34, of Linchfield Road, Market Deeping, admitted two charges of conspiracy and was jailed for nine years
• Mohammed Waqar, 32, of Firth Park Crescent, Sheffield, admitted one charge of conspiracy. He was jailed for seven years and nine months
• Lee Syndercombe, also known as Quinn Moncler, 33, of Edinburgh Drive, Kirton, Boston, admitted two offences of conspiracy. He was jailed for seven years and three months
• Amandeep Singh, 41, a former Spalding taxi driver, now of Ridgmount Street, Bedford, admitted one charge of conspiracy. He was jailed for six years

The 13 defendants sentenced on Thursday were :

• Martin Murphy, 51, of Windsor Bank, Boston, admitted two charges of conspiracy and was jailed for 18 years and eight months
• Daniel Beeken, 41, of Campains Lane, Deeping St Nicholas, was jailed for 16 years and six months. He admitted two charges of conspiracy
• Paul Wilkinson, 42, of Hudson Way, Skegness, denied one charge of conspiracy but was found guilty. He denied a further charge of conspiracy relating to drug supply from Leicester into Skegness. He was jailed for 14 years and four months
• Timothy Fisher, 34, of Cygnet Court, Spalding, denied two charges of conspiracy but was gound guilty. He was jailed for 14 years
• Luke Culpin, 32, of Snowdrop Place, Spalding; denied two charges of conspiracy to supply drugs but was found guilty after a trial and jailed for 14 years
• Darren Palmer, 48, of Windsor Bank, Boston, denied one charge of conspiracy but was found guilty. He also admitted illegal possession of a mobile phone in prison. He was jailed for 14 years
• Neil Dodd, 56, of Spalding Common, Spalding, admitted two charges of conspiracy and was jailed for 13 years
• Scott Hurford ,44, of Park Road, Spalding; admitted two charges of conspiracy. He was jailed for 12 years. The court was told that Hurford had previously received a 26 year jail sentence in Thailand for a drugs supply offence from which he was released early
• Heidi Murphy, 46, of Woodthorpe Avenue, Boston; denied two charges of conspiracy but was found guilty after a trial. She was jailed for 12 years
• Hayley Roberts , 29, of Mawson Gardens, Wainfleet; admitted one charge of conspiracy and three charges of possession of cannabis. She was jailed for five years and eight months
• Rosie Warren, 27, of Clough Road, Gosberton Risegate, admitted conspiracy and was jailed for four years and six months
• Charlotte Brooks,29, of Mawson Gardens, Wainfleet; admitted one charge of conspiracy and one charge of possessing cannabis. She was jailed for three years and two months
• Rebecca Patrick, 30, of Eden Court, Rochford, Essex; the partner of Nicky Joseph who headed up the Essex operation, admitted allowing her home to be used for storing cocaine. She was given a six month jail sentence suspended for 18 months

Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin, the National Police Chief Council’s lead for drugs, said: “I welcome these sentences which have been achieved through the dedication and determination of EMSOU and Lincolnshire officers. Drug dealers cause devastating damage to communities and the vulnerable people who they supply.

“When dealers are put behind bars, others simply fill the void they have left. We will continue to bring drug dealers to justice, but we have to see this as a wider societal and public health issue that the police cannot solve on their own. There must be a focus on supporting and diverting those that need illicit drugs to eliminate the problem.”