Torquay drug gang who brought an estimated £1.6m of cocaine and heroin into south Devon jailed
Members of a drug gang who brought an estimated £1.6 of cocaine and heroin into south Devon have been jailed.
The ten dealers and couriers join the gang's leader and five other members were also jailed in March.
Police have revealed images of the huge amounts of cash and drugs they seized.
Officers spent two years monitoring the gang led by organised crime boss Joshua Garrett, who received a jail term of 33 years.
Months of surveillance work resulted in police tracking deliveries of drugs from Liverpool, fueling the £100,000 a month trade.
The gang sold a kilo of hard drugs every month and made around £1.6 million during the 15 months it was operating.
The crime group was broken after a five week intensive operation at a house in Dorchester Grove, Torquay, in February and March last year.
The house was being used as a base for packing and distribution.
Images released by the police include surveillance photos of key gang members coming and going to the property.
Courier Jessica Storey, who travelled to and from Devon with her mother Paula, was stopped on the M6 in Cheshire in February 2019 with more than £30,000 cash in the car.
The notes were rolled up in distinctive blue rubber bands which matched a batch recovered from Garrett’s home when he was arrested the following month.
Another courier Paul O’Brien was intercepted on Haldon Hill as he headed for Torbay with a third of a kilo of drugs.
The gang was arrested in a series of co-ordinated raids in Torbay and Liverpool in March last year.
Detective Inspector Ben Davies, who led the inquiry, said: “Through the dedication of the officers involved, this complex investigation uncovered the depth and breadth of the gang’s involvement in the drugs market in these towns.
“I commend the professionalism and dedication of the investigating teams in Devon and Cornwall for the lengths they have gone to, ensuring this organised crime group was identified, arrested and convicted.
“Devon and Cornwall Police will continue to pursue these groups in order to protect the communities they target."
The gang's total sentences comes to 146 years and nine months.
Read more: