SEVERAL members of a Wrexham drugs gang have been jailed.
Operation Blue Kyanite was a police investigation into the supply of class A drugs in Wrexham and the wider North Wales area.
Seven of the gang members appeared at Mold Crown Court for sentence on Thursday for conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Simon Rogers, prosecuting, told the court about extensive records obtained which showed the gang's movements over the year of the conspiracy (March 2020 to March 2021).
Over that time period, the "lucrative enterprise" facilitated large scale supply of cocaine and heroin, involving multiple kilograms of the substances.
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It saw the drugs sourced from a supplier in Merseyside and brought into Wrexham, where the head of the organised crime group was based.
A number of trusted 'couriers' were used to move the drugs and money around, with the gang making use of encrypted chat, young children and cheap pre-paid phone handsets to avoid detection and deflect suspicion.
Speaking of the criminal enterprise generally, Judge Niclas Parry said it could "only be described as sophisticated and well organised."
He added: "The harm that has been caused to the community is incalculable."
Thomas Wright, of Fairfield Avenue in Roby, had links close to the original source of the drugs and was the 'upstream supplier' based in Merseyside.
Julian Nutter, defending 45-year-old Wright, said his client had been threatened and forced to work for other, more sophisticated criminals than himself.
He said: "He was, until his involvement in this, someone who had a respectable occupation as a joiner.
"He was working in a house in Liverpool and he saw a large amount of cash. He did nothing with it - he continued his work.
"But he was accused of stealing the cash and that's how he came to be drawn into this."
Judge Niclas Parry handed him a sentence of 10 years and eight months.
The Judge said: "You were one of the two most serious conspirators.
"Simply, you were the supplier of kilos of the commodity in North East Wales and there were times when you travelled to make collections and deliveries yourself."
Kevin Roberts, aged 43 and of Plas Gwyn in Wrexham, tried to dispose of almost 1kg of heroin when a vehicle he was travelling in was stopped by police.
He jumped from the van and ran from officers through private gardens carrying a bag.
Roberts disappeared but when they retraced their steps the police found a carrier bag that appeared out of place and was recognised as the one Roberts had been carrying.
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The DNA of another gang member was recovered from its contents.
John Wyn Williams, defending Roberts, said: "He has worked all his life and has the support of his family.
"He admits drugs wreck people's lives and he took his eye off the ball, as he puts it, and let things slip."
Judge Parry Jailed him for seven years and two months.
Next up for sentence was Robert Reid, aged 37 and of St Davids Crescent in Wrexham.
Myles Wilson, defending Reid, said: "His involvement was just for one day - a courier, which is what he was convicted of being.
"He can't read and write and is not involved in the drugs scene.
"He can properly be described as being in a lesser role."
But Judge Parry said Reid had been "foolish" in having a trial over the offences.
He added: "You'd have known you were taking a significant amount of money to Liverpool and you were trusted to meet the upstream supplier.
"Your defence of saying you just took a package without enquiring about its contents was rejected by the jury as the nonsense it was."
Reid was jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Mehmet Karadas, 48, of Kingstown in Wrexham, allowed conspirators to use his legitimate business as a taxi driver for cover.
There was significant contact between him and other gang members, the court heard, and on one occasion he drove two of them to Liverpool.
Oliver King, defending Karadas, said there was no evidence his client had made any significant financial gain.
"There wasn't a high degree of trust," he said.
"He wasn't even left alone with any of the packages and he wasn't in the conspiracy from beginning to end."
He'd have known what he was doing and he'd have been well rewarded for it, Judge Parry told the defendant, jailing him for six-and-a-half years.
Julie Prile, 45, of Coed Efa in New Broughton, was in close contact with the main conspirators, the court heard.
She "knew full well" what she was involved in, the Judge told her - making repeated trips from Wrexham to Liverpool.
Defending Prile, Debra White said: "It is right to say she performed a limited function under direction.
"She was directed to go to various places by those much higher up the chain than her."
Judge Parry jailed Prile for five years.
Cial Prandle, 29, of Overton Way in Acton Park, was caught with a bag containing nearly £30,000 after leaving the house of a co-conspirator.
Andrew Green, defending Prandle, said his client's involvement had been an act of "stupidity."
"He left school and joined the Army," he said.
"He's a hard worker and a devoted and caring father."
Prandle was jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Courier Jamie Wright, 23, of Hampden Way in Acrefair, had a one-off involvement in the conspiracy, the Judge conceded, and was "modestly paid."
But he knew what he was doing, the court heard.
Simon Mintz, defending, said: "Reality has caught up with this young man today.
"He was 22 at the time of his involvement in this conspiracy and was of good character."
Wright was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
More members of the group are to be sentenced at a later date.
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