Man who ran cocaine gang from mum's house jailed

A man who ran a drugs operation from his mother's home has been jailed alongside four others for supplying cocaine worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said ringleader Jordan Ireland, 29, from Hucclecote in Gloucester was filmed weighing cocaine in his mother's kitchen.

James Blandford, 35, also from Hucclecote - who was described as "second-in-command" of the drugs gang - was also sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court.

They were both sentenced alongside gang members Brian Dennis, 55, from Cheltenham, Ashley Booth, 29, from Gloucester, and Scott Capstick, 37, also from Gloucester.

The men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs - apart from Capstick, who was sentenced for the lesser charge of being concerned with the supply of drugs - which he admitted.

The court was told an investigation was launched into the gang in April 2024, when Ireland, who had previously served a six year prison sentence for drug offences, was arrested for unrelated matters.

Police downloaded data from Ireland's mobile phone, which led officers to start a covert surveillance investigation.

The court was told how the gang brought in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of Class A drugs to Gloucestershire and surrounding counties between February 2023 and September 2024, with the addition of some cannabis and ketamine.

Det Ch Insp Matt Phillips, from Gloucestershire Police, said the cocaine would then be mixed with cheaper substances such as local anaestheticBenzocaineto stretch out the supply and to maximise profits.

Dennis, who was a mechanic by trade, would then press the mixture into 1kg (2.20lb) blocks to make it look like the cocaine had not been tampered with.

The court was told how Booth was involved in helping to store and distribute the drugs.

The group also put in extra measures to make sure the money - which changed hands - went where they intended it to.

"We found they were sometimes handing over £100,000 a time in cash to a courier and obviously they wanted some security to make sure that went to plan," explained Phillips.

"So one of the models they used was the courier would send a photograph of a serial number of a £5 note," he said.

"Before they handed the money over the person coming to meet them had to have that exact bank note in their possession so they knew the money was going to the right place," he added.

Detectives also found videos filmed by the defendants, including one showing an estimated 6kg (13lb) of cocaine in Ireland's kitchen.

Phillips said the gang also used encrypted apps on their phones to advertise the product and to arrange cash to be collected.

Ireland was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison, while Blandford was sentenced to eight years and three months.

Dennis was sentenced to six years and four months, Booth was sentenced to seven years and one month, and Capstick was sentenced to three years and four months.

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