Seventeen people have been sentenced for their part in a major drugs supply operation in Derbyshire.
The group mainly used Snapchat to sell their drugs, operating a collection and delivery service and using social media to run competitions to drum up custom by giving away freebies.
Evis Zogu was the head of the conspiracy, sourcing large amounts of the cannabis that was sold.
Henry Raisbeck, Thomas Soler and Samuel Dixon worked alongside him, co-ordinating the supply and distribution of Class A and B drugs into Creswell from Nottinghamshire. Stephen Newton was used as a driver and enforcer for those higher up the chain, while Claire Whittaker is the partner of Davey Holmes and helped him with the supply side of the business.
The conspiracy came to light in October 2020 when officers attempted to stop a suspicious vehicle in Skinner Street, Creswell.
The car failed to stop and drove dangerously before crashing in Duchess Street. The driver, Alex Hall, and passenger Kieran Birnie fled the scene, but officers then found three large buckets containing five kilos of cannabis worth between £22,200 and £27,000 in the boot of the car.
After the crash, Jay Hall, brother of Alex Hall, made a 999 call to police claiming he was the driver of the car and that the contents belonged to him. He was arrested later that evening, but enquiries went on to show that this was a lie and Jay Hall was in the pub all night.
This incident led to the downfall of the group’s supply empire. Members began to try to sell more drugs to recoup the losses made when the car crashed, but this led to frictions and the group arguing, with threats being made.
Throughout all this, the drug supply continued and further arrests and seizures were made.
In January 2021, Davey Holmes, Michael Cooper, Damien Wyatt and Craig Wyatt were arrested in Bradford after being found in possession of cannabis valued at between £1,400 and £1,700, as well as cash.
The next incident occurred in February 2021 when police stopped a BMW at the Tesco service station in Mill View Way, Clowne. Driver Leroy Wyatt and passenger Davey Holmes were arrested after being found in possession of a large quantity of cannabis, cash and an offensive weapon they had strategically placed down the side of the passenger seat.
These arrests led to the search of a property in Duke Street, Creswell, which was where the group stashed their drugs. At that property, Craig Wyatt and Leon Lander were arrested with cannabis, cannabis edibles and cocaine, with a total value of £21,360 being found.
A few days later, on 19 February 2021, a member of the public called police to say a cannabis grow at a property in Church Street, Creswell, was being harvested. Officers attended and found a half-harvested grow. It later became apparent that some members of the group had stolen cannabis from the others to try to recoup their losses.
Investigations then led to another address in Duke Street, Creswell, where Nicola Eccleston and Simon Dykes were arrested.
All were subsequently charged and have been sentenced to the below:
Evis Zogu, 37, of Whaley Common, Whaley, Mansfield – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and possession with intent to supply cocaine – jailed for 8 years and 6 months
Henry Raisbeck, 34, of Hardwick Road East, Worksop – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and possession with intent to supply cocaine – jailed for 6 years and 2 months
Davey Holmes, 28, of Elmton Road, Creswell – conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs, two counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and supplying Class B drugs – jailed for 12 years
Thomas Soler, 28, of Raines Avenue, Worksop – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – jailed for two years, suspended for two years
Samuel Dixon, 29, of Swift End Close, Worksop – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – jailed for two years, suspended for two years
Alex Hall, 28, of Church Street, Creswell – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and dangerous driving – jailed for 5 years and 6 months
Jay Hall, 31, of Church Street, Creswell – conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs and perverting the course of justice – jailed for 3 years and 6 months
Leroy Wyatt, 41, of Godfrey’s Court, Worksop – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – jailed for 2 years and 6 months
Damien Wyatt, 35, of Brecks Road, Retford – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – jailed for 12 months
Craig Wyatt, 39, of Sandhill Street, Worksop – conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs – jailed for 30 months
Leon Lander, 31, of Duke Street, Creswell – conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs – jailed for 27 months
Michael Cooper, 34, of Church Street, Creswell – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – jailed for 14 months, suspended for two years
Stephen Newton, 47, of Portland Avenue, Creswell – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – jailed for 27 months
Kieron Birnie, 28, of Hazelby Road, Creswell – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – jailed for 15 months, suspended for 2 years
Claire Whittaker, 41, of Laurel Close, Shirebrook – conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – community order with 120 hours’ unpaid work
Nicola Eccleston, 29, of Duke Street, Creswell – possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to supply, two counts of supplying a Class A drug, supplying a Class B drug and possession of criminal property – community order with 100 hours’ unpaid work and rehabilitation activity
Simon Dykes, 35, of no fixed address – possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to supply, two counts of supplying a Class A drug and supplying a Class B drug – jailed for 36 months
PC Helen Ward, who led the investigation, said: “This group were responsible for the distribution and sale of a large quantity of drugs in Derbyshire, so I am pleased they have now been brought to justice for their crimes.
“Drugs have a massive impact on our communities, so it is vital that criminal activity from groups such as this is disrupted and the group dismantled.
“We would ask anyone with any information on drug dealing in their area to please contact us and let us know. Together we can work to get criminals like this off our streets.”
