TWO members of an organised crime gang who helped traffic tens of thousands of pounds-worth of cocaine into the South West have been jailed.

Stephen Wills and Leum Barrett were both found guilty of conspiring to supply cocaine and possession with intent to supply cocaine at a trial which concluded in December.

John Brewster, 35, of Dixon Way, Calne, was found not guilty of conspiring to supply a Class A drug at the same trial.

Wills and Barrett were jailed for a combined total of 14 years by His Honour Judge Stephen Climie at a hearing at Exeter Crown Court today.

The court heard that between July and November 2019, Wills and Barrett were involved in an organised crime gang’s operation to deliver high-purity drugs from London to dealers in the Exeter area.

Other members of the gang, Adi Lleshi, Mark Vasija and Richard Armitage, are already behind bars, having been convicted at previous trials for their roles in supplying cocaine to towns across the South West.

The court heard that Lleshi delivered cocaine to the Exeter-based conspirators.

On one of these occasions, he drove to a property in Chagford.

Whilst he was in there, Barrett was seen outside the address and appeared to be waiting for someone. Shortly after, Wills made phone calls to Barrett and Armitage who arrived at the property and entered before Lleshi left with a bag, having received payment for the drugs.

All parties left the address at the same time. Lleshi went on to deliver cocaine elsewhere in the South West.

Barrett and Wills were in significant telephone contact with each other that evening.

Subsequent enquiries found that this property was rented to Armitage who paid the bills.

The gang thought it was a safe house and was unaware that it was under surveillance by law enforcement agencies, led by Devon and Cornwall Police.

During the course of the investigation, searches were carried out at all the suspects’ addresses, and more than a quarter of a kilogram of cocaine was found at the home addresses of Wills and Barrett.

These seizures had a total street value of £40,000 and the evidence suggested the Exeter-based dealers still had the ability to buy and sell large amounts of cocaine.

The group also used mobile phones which had the highest level of encryption.

Following interviews of all the suspects, a full file was submitted to the Complex Case Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service and charges were made.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Ben Davies said: ‘This was a substantial and complex investigation in which large quantities of Class-A drugs destined for the streets of Plymouth, Bristol, Torquay and Penzance were seized.

‘The large quantities of criminal money also recovered demonstrated the extent of the drugs empire and its foothold in the South West of England.’

Wills, aged 36, of Bridford, Exeter, was sentenced to nine years in jail for conspiring to supply cocaine and four years for possession with intent to supply cocaine.

He was also sentenced on three separate charges to which he had previously pleaded guilty.

For conspiring to supply a class A drug, he was given a six-year sentence, for conspiring to supply a class B drug, he was sentenced to three years, and for possession of a prohibited firearm, for which he was given a five-year sentence.

All to be served concurrently with the nine-year sentence.

Barrett, 35, of Newton Poppleford, was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy to supply a class A drug and three-and-a-half years for possession with intent to supply cocaine to be served concurrently.

The convictions are the result of a large-scale investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Branch, aided by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit.