Decades in prison for crack cocaine and heroin dealers in Gainsborough
A large police investigation helped find the men responsible
Nine men face a combined decades in prison for their roles in dealing class A&B drugs in Gainsborough. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Nine people responsible for dealing crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin and cannabis in Gainsborough over several months have been sentenced to decades in prison following an investigation.
The hearing at Lincoln Crown Court heard how the offenders had been dealing to users in and around the town, with deals sometimes carried out in public spaces.
The drug deals taking place were smaller sales to users who would sometimes buy several times a day. The deals were for 0.01 of a gram of crack cocaine each time, and they cost £10 a wrap.
Jerry Maughan, also known as Smith, 28, of Lea Road West, Gainsborough. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Andrew Burgess, 41, of Marshall’s Rise, Gainsborough. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
It is believed around half a kilo of crack cocaine was dealt during the investigation. Users were sent marketing text messages advertising that crack cocaine was available. As well as dealing crack cocaine, they also supplied cocaine in larger quantities on demand.
It is believed that they reloaded their supply around every three days to satisfy demand.
William Andrews, 51, of High Street, Gainsborough. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Declan Boswell, 20, of no fixed address. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
An operation was launched by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) to catch those responsible after officers from the Gainsborough Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) identified the emerging issue of dealing on their patch.
Intelligence officers and the local NPT spent months gathering community intelligence, alongside other investigative methods by regional officers and staff, to determine who was responsible for the dealing, before specialist teams executed a series of early-morning warrants on 5 May 2020.
Ben Glastonbury, 35, previously of Clinton Terrace, Gainsborough. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Ty McLaggan, 23, of Park Springs Road, Gainsborough. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
The warrants were carried out at six properties simultaneously – five in Gainsborough and one in North Lincolnshire.
Six of the offenders were arrested immediately following the warrants. A further offender was arrested the following day, one more later that month, and the rest a few months later following ongoing investigations.
Seven of the offenders who pleaded guilty to their part in the conspiracy, and two who were found guilty following a trial, have now been sentenced this week. A further two will be sentenced at a later date.
This positive result is owed in part to intelligence received from the local community. If you have any concerns about your area or an individual, please contact us either through 101 or through Crimestoppers anonymously on https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or 0800 555111.
Nathan Stevenson, 31, of Queensfield, Gainsborough. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police, Kerrin Wilson, said: “Organised criminality such as this seeks to prey on vulnerable people, and we knew that these individuals were a blight on their community, because with drugs always comes other issues.
“As a Force, we proactively tackle drug dealing, and we knew that with the help of the local community, our officers could use their policing expertise to gather the intel which could help identify those who were responsible for bringing dealing to the streets of Gainsborough – and crucially, allow us to gather the evidence needed to secure a conviction.
“This was a very thorough and involved investigation, and it’s thanks to the hard work and determination of our officers and staff to improve the communities they serve that we are here today, with results which send a clear message that we will not tolerate dealing in our county at any level.
“The main win is for the community. Our pursuit of criminals is round the clock, and the payoff of investigations like this gives us a further push to keep on tackling this kind of crime so that we can make every one of our towns, villages and cities a safe place to live, work and visit.”
Robert Blakestone, 75, of Thurstan Way, Worksop. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Here is the full list of offenders, their charges, and their sentences. The following pleaded guilty:
Jerry Maughan, also known as Smith, 28, of Lea Road West, Gainsborough. Sentence: For conspiracy to supply Class A Crack Cocaine he was sentenced to 5 years, 8 months (68 months). He received the same sentence for conspiracy to supply Cocaine, to run concurrently. He was also given a 10 month sentence to run concurrently for supply of class B drug (Cannabis).
Andrew Burgess, 41, of Marshall’s Rise, Gainsborough. He was sentenced to 3 years for supplying a Class A drug (Cocaine). He is now released on licence based on time served.
William Andrews, 51, of High Street, Gainsborough. For conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A (Crack Cocaine), he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. He received a further 3 year sentence for conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A (Cocaine), to run concurrently. He received a further 2 years and 7 months for possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply (Heroin), which will run concurrently. He was also sentenced for offences predating the investigation. He received a 20 month sentence to run concurrently for possession of Class A drug with intent to supply (Diacetylmorphine), and a 20 month sentence to run consecutively for possession of Class A drug with intent to supply (Crack Cocaine).
Declan Boswell, 20, no fixed address. He was sentenced to 3 years for conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A (Crack Cocaine). He is now released on licence based on time served.
Ben Glastonbury, 35, previously of Clinton Terrace, Gainsborough. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison for conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A (Crack Cocaine). He received a further 2 year sentence for supply of controlled drug Class A (Heroin). This sentence will run concurrently.
Ty McLaggan, 23, of Park Springs Road, Gainsborough. He was sentenced to 3 years and 3 months for conspiracy to supply Class A drug (Crack Cocaine), and a further 3 years and 3 months to run concurrently for supply of controlled drug of Class A (Heroin). He is now released on licence based on time served.
Declan Mulholland, 22, of Ropery Road, Gainsborough. He was sentenced to 3 years and 3 months for conspiracy to supply Class A drug (Crack Cocaine), and a further two sentences each of 3 years and 3 months for conspiracy to supply Class A drug (Cocaine) and supply of controlled drug of Class A (Heroin). Those sentences will run concurrently. He is now released on licence based on time served.
The following were found guilty following a trial in March 2022:
Nathan Stevenson, 31, of Queensfield, Gainsborough. He was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months for conspiracy to supply Class A drug (Cocaine).
Robert Blakestone, 75, of Thurstan Way, Worksop. He was found guilty of Conspiracy to supply Class A drug (Crack Cocaine) and Conspiracy to supply Class A (Cocaine). He was sentenced to 2 years a 3 months for each count, to run concurrently.
A further two offenders will be sentenced at a date to be confirmed:
Gareth Williams, 53, previously of Tennyson Street, Gainsborough – Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Crack Cocaine, Conspiracy to supply Cocaine, supply Heroin
John McLaggan, 50, of Park Springs Road, Gainsborough – Pleaded to supply of Heroin. Found guilty Conspiracy to supply Crack Cocaine.
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Nominations are open for schools and education settings to be recognised in the 2022 Lincolnshire Education Excellence Awards.
The event is organised by Stonebow Media, publishers of The Lincolnite, to celebrate the best school and teachers in Greater Lincolnshire.
The headline sponsors making the awards possible are Lincoln College Group.
Twelve categories are now open for nominations. The deadline for nominations is June 3, with a judging lunch scheduled for June 7.
Nominations are open from parents, carers, friends, families or education settings themselves, so if you know someone who deserving of winning now is the time to vote!
The awards ceremony will be held at the Engine Shed on July 7.
It’s been a week since the controversial statue of Margaret Thatcher was installed in Grantham’s St Peter’s Hill.
The £300,000 bronze monument immediately caused a stir and debate from both supporters and opponents of the first female Prime Minister of the UK.
Within hours of its 7am installation last Sunday, it had already been egged by a man later revealed to be 59-year-old Jeremy Webster, a deputy director at the Attenborough Arts Centre at the University of Leicester.
Mr Webster’s mother-in-law recently described his actions as “childish”.
Quoted in the MailOnline she said: “Margaret Thatcher lasted a long time in power. She was a trailblazer as the first woman prime minister and she had such energy, even though I know she slept very little.
“I’m very surprised to hear about all of this [egg throwing]. I’m going to have to call my daughter. I wouldn’t have thought Jeremy would be the sort of person to do this. It seems very childish to me – he has a responsible job.”
There have been reports of other antisocial behaviour taking place including people urinating up the statue, but investigations into these are yet to be confirmed by officials.
Away from the statue itself, others took to social media to react to the new monument.
Twitterer @BolsoverBeast thought Mr Webster’s actions should be expanded as a way to… get more people involved?
I think it would be a good idea to put Thatcher’s statue on a low loader and tow it slowly around the country so that we all have a chance to throw something at it. pic.twitter.com/uftMqr0LgR
— Chloe Schlosberg (@ChloeSchlosberg) May 19, 2022
Some called back to the fate of other statues
@Irritatedllama called back to the fate of slave trader Edward Colston who was thrown into the Bristol Harby in June 2020.
It's absolutely disgraceful that people are throwing eggs at the Margaret Thatcher statue in Grantham! We need to deploy a taskforce to give it jolly good wash!#Granthampic.twitter.com/RKftKUls4u
It wasn’t long before a parody account of the statue was set up on Twitter – nor before “she” was interacting with other parody accounts.
It was awful. I could see almost all of Grantham
— That Statue of Thatcher (@thatcher_statue) May 18, 2022
A… positive view?
There were supporters of the statue, however, Darren Grimes from GBNews was one of the few popular posts calling on people not to “give in to threats of petty vandalism”. He later posted the statue should be in parliament – where it was previously rejected from.
I honestly think Margaret Thatcher would have found this first round of petty vandalism of her statue to be utterly hilarious.
The statue looks absolutely glorious.
Almost a decade on from her passing, she’s still winding them up!
Some, like @Jonnyhibberd were more measured in their response.
I don't see a problem with a Thatcher statue and I also don't see a problem with people throwing eggs at it. Thatcher is an important part of our history, and so is what a lot of people thought about her.
— Jonathan Hibberd 🇺🇦 (@Jonnyhibberd) May 18, 2022
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