A Sussex man has been jailed for eight and a half years for his role as a manager in a drugs gang that ran a county line – or deal line – known as “Scouse Dave”.
Adam Hughes, 38, of Speedwell Lane, Heathfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs – heroin and crack cocaine.
Hughes was described as an operational manager who had a significant role in an organised crime group (OCG) run by brothers Anthony and Brian Siner.
Judge Daniel Sawyer sentenced Hughes to eight and a half years at Portsmouth Crown Court at the end of last week.
The gang ran drugs from Liverpool to Gosport, in Hampshire, and Plymouth, in Devon, and 17 members were snared after an operation involving three police forces.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) led the investigation, with support from Merseyside Police and Devon and Cornwall Police.
Their work resulted in the gang being dismantled from the ground up, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said.
Police said: “Over the course of the investigation, 4kg of drugs and more than £30,000 in cash were physically seized by police, along with a number of weapons.
“Between Saturday 1 January 2022 and Tuesday 28 March 2023, the network sold at least 25kg of crack cocaine and heroin in Gosport and approximately 9.6kg of crack and heroin in Plymouth.
“By targeting suppliers operating in Gosport, police were able to work their way up the chain of command to identify couriers, operational managers and, ultimately, two heads of the organised crime group (OCG) – brothers Anthony and Brian Siner.
“Anthony oversaw the Siner OCG, running heroin and crack cocaine through Gosport, while Brian controlled the line operating in Plymouth from his prison cell where he was coming to the end of a 14-year sentence for previous drugs supply offences in Liverpool.
“The county line – which marketed itself as a brand known as the ‘Scouse Dave’ line – had been embedded in Gosport for a number of years, with local police officers conducting regular disruption and intervention work to target distributors and remove drugs from the supply chain.
“As a result of this work, the constabulary identified a ‘Scouse Presence’ in Gosport – namely operational members of the Siner OCG making sure dealing went ahead and that the Scouse Dave presence was felt effectively in the area.
“These OCG members also took cash back to Liverpool when they returned to the city. The whole operation ran like a business. People worked and were paid a wage.
“Police were able to establish that couriers working for the OCG would either bring drugs down to Gosport and Plymouth in bulk or conduct cash collection trips whereby proceeds of drugs sales were collected from gang members and then transported back up to Liverpool.”
After a series of arrests, police said: “A total of 17 conspirators were brought into the criminal justice system, pleading guilty to their involvement in the conspiracy, and 11 have been sentenced so far to more than 74 years in prison.”
On Friday 31 January, four gang members were sentenced
• Anthony Siner, 38, of Monterey Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 17 years and 7 months.
• Brian Siner, 41, of Clint Way, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 15 years and 9 months.
• Gareth Roberts, 43, of York Road, Southend, Essex, pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 6 years and 9 months. Roberts acted as a courier for the operation, collecting cash and delivering drugs to Gosport and Plymouth.
• Lee Illingworth, 39, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, having already spent 13 months in prison awaiting sentence. He was also ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Seven other gang members were sentenced on last Thursday (20 March) and Friday (21 March)
• Adam Hughes, 38, of Speedwell Lane, Heathfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs, and was jailed for 8 years and 6 months. Hughes was an operational manager who had a significant role in the conspiracy.
• Gary Cranney, 41, of Eldonian Way, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 7 years. Cranney was also an operational manager working under the Siners.
• Demi Hannon, 27, of Gorst Street, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to participation in the criminal activities of an organised crime group and was given a two-year community order, comprising 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 150 hours of unpaid work.
• Lee Richardson, 27, of Blackhorse Lane, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 9 years.
• Max Pike, 28, of Little Chilworth, Gosport, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 5 years and 7 months.
• Clayton Donnelly, 21, of Sunbeam Way, Gosport, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 4 years and 6 months.
• Donna Yuen, 48, of Davenport Close, Gosport, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs was handed a 22-month sentence, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 60 hours of unpaid work.
Six defendants remain to be sentenced.
• Paul Naughton, 30, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs. He failed to appear at the sentencing hearing. A warrant for his arrest was issued and a new sentencing date of Friday 25 April was set.
• Danny Venning, 38, of Beatrice Avenue, Lipson, Plymouth, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and is due to be sentenced on Friday 7 April.
• Sean Harland, 43, of Miller Drive, Fareham, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and is due to be sentenced on Friday 7 April.
• Brett Coe-Quainton, 25, of Gale Moor Avenue, Gosport, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and is due to be sentenced on Friday 25 April.
• Kevin Wealthal, 57, of Little Chilworth, Gosport, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and is due to be sentenced on Friday 25 April.
• Christopher Crewe, 39, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and is due to be sentenced on Friday 2 May.
Chief Inspector Marcus Kennedy, District Commander for Fareham and Gosport, said: “County Lines gangs have been embedded in Hampshire for some time and to put it simply they are not welcome at all.
“People who live in Gosport are very passionate about their town and when an organised crime group moves in it impacts all of the community.
“These gangs are linked to violence, including use of weapons, as well as wider community issues such as anti-social behaviour and acquisitive crime. These are not people you want operating in your area.
“They prey on the vulnerable but sometimes drug runners can be vulnerable themselves and forced into this world, particularly if they are young or have been exposed to violence from a young age.
“The work into the Siner OCG has been phenomenal and has taken out key members of the gang at all levels including those with senior oversight.
“They’ve been cleared out but there’s still more to do to continue stamping out drugs gangs.
“The police don’t want them here and the community don’t want them here – not in our town so my plea to the public will always be to tell us what’s going on in your towns to help us eradicate these groups.
“No matter how small the piece of information is, please work with us so we can develop the intelligence picture, take action and make your community a safer place to live.
“This work wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our colleagues in Merseyside Police and Devon and Cornwall Police, in addition to the Crown Prosecution Service who presented the case to the courts.
“Police and partners will continue to work together in this way to disrupt those who infiltrate and bring harm to our towns and cities.”
Detective Sergeant Peter Sloan, from Merseyside Police, said: “Drug dealing destroys lives and contributes to the cycle of crime and exploitation.
“In Merseyside, we are doing all we can to stop drug activity and make it a hostile environment for organised crime groups.
“This was a complex investigation but thanks to the work of Hampshire Police, Devon and Cornwall and our dedicated county lines team, Project Medusa, we have been able to secure significant sentences.
“The investigation showcases the success of working together with other forces to close county lines and put organised criminals behind bars.”
