Drug dealers Richard Batty and Robert Gervis jailed for bringing cocaine worth £4.1m into Humberside

Two men have been jailed for a combined total of over 19 years for their part in an organised crime group that brought £4.1m of cocaine into Hull.

Thirty-eight-year-old Richard Batty from Withernwick and 59-year-old Robert Gervis from Northwich both pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine between April and August 2020.

The National Crime Agency's Operation Venetic targeted their use of encrypted messaging service ‘Encrochat’. Nationally it saw them make 746 arrests and seize over two tonnes of drugs.

Robert Gervis acted as a trusted courier to deliver drugs to Richard Batty, bringing 41 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of £4.1m into Humberside.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Clough said: “In June 2020 Batty received images of five, one KG blocks of cocaine with the designer brand ‘Prada’ and ‘GVY’ imprinted on them, and a price offered of £37,500.

“Gervis acted as the courier and transported the cocaine to a location near to New Ellerby to meet Batty, however on this occasion, Batty was seemingly not happy with the quality and refused the deal.

“Gervis left with the drugs, which at the time had a street value of around £500,000, to head back to Manchester but was stopped and arrested by traffic officers on the M62 near Goole as part of the investigation.”

Batty was sentenced to 12 years at Hull Crown Court, while Gervis was jailed for seven and a half years.

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