An organised criminal gang that used storage containers at a Mansfield industrial estate to store guns and deal drugs is set to be sentenced.
The investigation found that members of the gang were given access to different storage containers depending on their position within the group.
They were then peddling Class A and B drugs such as heroin, crack cocaine, cocaine, MDMA and cannabis to street dealers, predominantly in the Mansfield area but also as far afield as Hertfordshire and Wales.
Detectives worked tirelessly to dismantle the gang’s activity following a lengthy investigation that began in August 2025.
Members of the gang made multiple trips to the storage containers, where they were observed delivering and collecting packages, boxes and cash.
One of the key players, Leah Hopkinson, was seen attending the site, sometimes up to four times a day during a three-month period, handing items to both Anthony Lumley and Brennan Hayes, and later to Lee Shipman after the arrests of both Hayes and Lumley.
The investigation believes that Hopkinson was dealing up to 600 wraps a day of Class A and B drugs to street dealers.
Hopkinson, who worked as a community care co-ordinator, was often seen in her carers’ uniform, carrying out these drug deals between working appointments.
Other members of the gang included ringleader Jamie Smith, as well as Justin Gibson and Kieran Rimmer, who moved items from container to container.
Smith was also seen moving large amounts of cash.
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In November 2025, moments before a warrant was executed by police, Smith was observed moving firearms between two storage containers.
During the warrant executed on all five containers, officers seized a large quantity of cash and drugs, five firearms, ammunition, knives, including a machete, and drug-dealing equipment, including a drug press, scales, mixing agents and packaging consistent with wholesale quantities.
The defendants’ properties were also searched.
At the home address of Smith and his partner, Shannon-Lee Shaw, in Breckbank, Mansfield, evidence was located, including a drugs line phone.
Overall, officers seized a large quantity of cash, mobile phones and SIM cards, firearms, a machete, and a hoard of designer clothing, along with motorbikes worth thousands of pounds.
They also located a mobile phone, wrapped in cling film and hidden behind a fence, which exposed the drugs line in Smith’s messages.
In total, £48,038 in cash was recovered from the five containers and the addresses, along with an estimated £746,000 worth of drugs on the enforcement day alone.
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Gibson, who also made trips to the containers, was detained with more than £15,000, which was recovered from his vehicle after an exchange was made with another man in Ware, Hertfordshire.
Jack Smith was also arrested, where police uncovered cocaine, MDMA and cannabis in his own container at the yard.
Lumley and Hayes were arrested after leaving the container yard and running from the police. Hayes was detained with crack cocaine and heroin, along with the drugs phone.
Business continued that day when calls from drug users were immediately diverted to Lee Shipman and his driver.
Lee Shipman was stopped with more than £500 in the company of his chauffeur as they were on their way to the containers. However, the police had already taken control of all the units.
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Detective Inspector James McDonagh, who leads the Serious Organised Crime Task Force at Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“This was a complex and sophisticated operation.
“The gang used five storage containers, with different levels of access depending on each person’s role within the gang.
“For example, one of the containers was used to store money, another was used for storing drugs and firearms, and the others were used to package the drugs and deal from.
“They hoped that being able to offer different levels of access would ultimately help them protect their drugs and money supply and evade arrest.
“But they were wrong. Our team of experienced detectives was able to foil their plans and build an overwhelming case against them.
“Hopkinson was a key player and would often turn up to the storage containers in her carers’ uniform, handling drugs at the same time she should have been looking after the community. Instead, she was financially benefiting from the most vulnerable drug users.
“Smith, who was one of the ringleaders, is now living a very different lifestyle from the one he had before our enforcement activity.
“Drugs destroy communities, and the gang showed no remorse for the lives they have undoubtedly ruined in Mansfield as a result of this operation, fuelled only by greed.
“We now await the judge’s sentencing on 23 and 24 September.”
Defendants:
Jamie Smith, aged 37, of Breckbank, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs × 3 – cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin
Conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – cannabis
Possession of a shotgun without a certificate
Possession of a firearm without a firearm certificate (self-loading rifle)
Possession of a prohibited firearm × 3 (pistols)
Possession of ammunition without a firearm certificate or authority
Shannon-Lee Shaw, aged 30, of Breckbank, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Acquiring criminal property
Justin Gibson, aged 36, of The Rushes, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – cannabis
and was found guilty after trial of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Leah Hopkinson, aged 31, of The Rushes, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – cannabis
and was found guilty after trial of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Kieran Rimmer, aged 37, of Seventh Avenue, Clipstone, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs × 2 – cocaine and crack cocaine
Matthew Bryan, aged 35, of Elm Tree Avenue, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs × 2 – crack cocaine and heroin
Anthony Lumley, aged 50, of Shelley Avenue, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs × 2 – crack cocaine and heroin
Brennan Hayes, aged 22, of Portland Crescent, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs × 2 – crack cocaine and heroin
Stefan Houston, aged 39, of Third Avenue, Clipstone, was found guilty after trial of:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs
Josh Harmieson, aged 33, of Elm Tree Avenue, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs – cocaine
Conspiracy to supply Class B drugs – cannabis
Jack Smith, aged 24, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to:
Possession with intent to supply Class A drugs × 2 – MDMA and cocaine
Possession with intent to supply Class B drugs – cannabis
Lee Shipman, aged 39, of Main Street, Shirebrook, pleaded guilty to:
Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs × 2 – crack cocaine and heroin
