Members of an organised crime group involved in the supply of class A drugs in Bournemouth and Poole have been jailed.
Jose Ivo Ferreira, aged 30 and of no fixed abode, Dean Wesley Lovell, aged 30 and of Cull Close, Poole, and Fleur Marie Newman, aged 28 and of Ripon Road, Bournemouth, were sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 16 October 2020.
Ferreira had pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs on Thursday 19 December 2019 and Lovell and Newman entered guilty pleas to offences of being concerned in the supply of class A and class B drugs on Monday 24 August 2020.
Ferreira was sentenced to 12 years in prison, Lovell received a nine-and-a-half-year jail term and Newman received a sentence of seven years.
The three defendants were arrested following an extensive operation led by officers from Dorset Police’s Serious Organised Crime Investigation Team (SOCIT) between May and November 2019 into the supply of heroin, cocaine, ketamine, MDMA and cannabis in the Poole and Bournemouth areas.
Following a major surveillance operation in October and November 2019, during which the defendants were observed engaging in suspected drug deals, Ferreira and Lovell were arrested in a vehicle in the Rossmore area of Poole.
The vehicle was searched and officers seized cash totalling more than £12,000, as well as a quantity of ketamine and MDMA.
Mobile phones were also seized and were found to be linked to numbers that had been used to ‘advertise’ the availability of drugs to users in the area.
A series of warrants were then executed at addresses linked to the defendants. Newman was present at the address where she was living with Ferreira and was arrested at the scene.
A search of that premises discovered a block of cocaine weighing nearly one kilogram as well as further amounts of class A drugs, six large bags of cannabis, various drug related paraphernalia and more amounts of cash.
Other addresses were also searched and further quantities of drugs were recovered, including four more blocks of cocaine weighing around one kilogram that were found in a car in a garage.
In total officers seized drugs with an estimated street value of more than £1million and cash totalling more than £60,000.
Detective Inspector Jamie Halford, of Dorset Police, said: “During the operation we seized several kilograms of class A and B drugs, as well as thousands of pounds in cash, making it one of the largest ever seizures by Dorset Police.
“The amount of drugs and cash involved demonstrates that these defendants were involved in a major operation to supply illegal drugs in the Poole and Bournemouth areas.
“The sentencing judge described Ferreira as a substantial dealer who was close to the importers of illegal drugs, who purchased 10kg of cocaine at a time and used numerous drivers to deliver the drugs. It was estimated that he dealt in the region of 70kg of class A and 50kg of class B drugs.
“This investigation saw officers compiling evidence over a period of several months to ensure we could bring these individuals to justice and disrupt this drug supply network.
“We fully recognise the detrimental impact the supply of drugs and drug related activity has on our local communities and Dorset Police is committed to doing all it can to identify those at the heart of the supply chain in our area and take action against them.
“I would like to thank the investigation team for all their work in investigating this matter and efforts during the court process to help secure these convictions and sentences that will see these drug dealers taken off the streets for a significant period.
“We are grateful for any intelligence from members of the public that can help us to disrupt the activity of these drugs gangs and would urge anyone with information to contact us at www.dorset.police.uk, via email [email protected] or by calling 101.”
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