'Cuckoo' drug gang members jailed

David Bennett, 26, Wayne Blench, 28, and Christopher Render, 24, preyed on local addicts to house them in what is known as a 'cuckooing' operation.

Using drugs as payment they would use the homes of the vulnerable users as a base to sell heroin and crack cocaine to locals, forcing their hosts to help in the trade.

David Scutt, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court it is thought the gang were bringing the substances to town from London every other day.

The men moved in on users Nuno Luis, 47, who lived on Wilton Walk and Dennis McNamee, 50, of Moredon Park, to provide them with homes.

Mr Scutt said evidence from phones seized showed that they were turning over more than £1,000 a day from addicts on the town's streets.

The SIM card from the 'dirty' line received 250 to 300 calls a day, of which more than three quarters are assumed to result in the sale of at least one wrap drugs.

He said it also contained the numbers and details of more than 100 customers, making it a valuable asset for dealers.

Over the four months they were active between February and May 2014 it is thought two kilograms of hard drugs were brought in from the capital.

He said that during the four months both properties were raided and drugs were found, on one occasion hidden in a toilet cistern.

When the packages were examined they were found to have forensic links to the men, who had also been involved in wrapping them for onward supply.

Render, of no fixed abode, Blench, of Acton, West London, and Luis, all admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs.

Bennett, from Northolt, West London, denied the counts but was convicted after a trial.

The court was told that all of the men were addicted to the drugs they were involved in supplying.

Mike Pulsford, for Luis, said his client was not present after fleeing the country to live in his native Portugal.

At an earlier hearing a European arrest warrant was issued to bring him back to the country to serve his sentence.

He said that his client had been involved in drugs supply before in a similar situation where dealers were operating from his home.

Passing sentence Judge Tim Mousley QC said "There were two seizures of drugs but, taken in the round of all the evidence, these represent a pattern of dealing in drugs over a period of time which is put at most between February and May 2014.

"It is said drugs were being bought down from London every other day: I am satisfied certainly it was more than once a week. That went on over a period of a number of months.

"This is another case where drug dealers were taking advantage of people who were vulnerable, to certain degrees, by their own addiction to drugs in Swindon."

He jailed Bennett for seven years, Luis for four years two months, Blench for four years nine months and Render for four years.

McNamee admitted allowing his premises to be used for supply and will face sentence at a later date.

Taking drug gangs off the streets is a top priority, says Wiltshire Police 

CRACKING down on city drug dealers who move into the county to sell drugs is a top priority for Wiltshire Police who have backed a national report which recognises that more forces are reporting established activity within their area.

The National Crime Agency say over 70 per cent of police forces are now reporting cross-county drug peddling which typically involves an urban criminal gang travelling to smaller locations to sell heroin and crack cocaine. The group will use a single telephone number for customers ordering drugs, operated from outside the area, which becomes their ‘brand’.

Unlike other criminal activities where telephone numbers are changed on a regular basis, these telephone numbers have value so are maintained and protected.

The gangs tend to use a local property, generally belonging to a vulnerable person, as a base for their activities which is often taken over by force, and in some instances victims have left their homes in fear of violence.

Wiltshire Police have backed the NCA’s report which also found that 85 per cent of forces reported that there was a dominance of London gangs selling the drugs in their area.

A spokesman added: “Unfortunately, Dangerous Drug Networks operating in large metropolitan cities believe that small counties like Wiltshire are a soft target for the expansion of their criminal enterprises.

"They believe that they can travel to our county to sell class A drugs, bringing with them violence, crime and anti-social behaviour, blighting the lives of people living within the local communities.

“Our Dedicated Crime Teams based in the north and south of the county are dedicated to intercepting this type of behaviour and will leave no stone unturned as they follow the trails of these criminals back to their county of origin, crossing county lines to ensure justice is done.

"We have recently had a number of successful results at court – taking drug dealers off the streets and protecting vulnerable people within our society. ”

A recent case includes Jonathan Kalala, 21, of Millward Walk, Ebenezer Baidoo, 23 of Eltham Palace Road, and Younathan Frezi, 23, of Rectory Field Crescent - who were sentenced to over six years each back in October.

The NCA say the offenders often employ various tactics to evade detection from police including rotating gang members between locations so they are not identified, with many using women and children to transport drugs in the belief that they are less likely to be stopped and searched.

The crime agency also commended forces after finding that 90 per cent of them are actively working with local partners to safeguard vulnerable adults and children involving multi-agency work with housing authorities, town councils, public health bodies and charities.

Tony Saggers, the NCA’s head of drugs threat and intelligence, said: “Given the levels of exploitation of young and vulnerable people that are taking place we think there could be real value in finding ways to use the Modern Slavery Act in tackling county lines.

"Whilst a drugs conviction is often seen as a badge of honour within these criminal gangs, anecdotal evidence tells us that they attach stigma to a modern slavery conviction.

"We need to make that work for us.”

The information for the report was collected in the first six months of 2016.