News

Dennis Obasi

Supplier of spice into prisons is jailed

A man has been sentenced to 11 years and seven months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drug spice into prisons, being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine, and possession of criminal property. The conviction of Dennis Obasi, 27, of no fixed abode, follows an investigation by the South…
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Operation Venetic – Three men sentenced to total of 32 years for roles in major drugs conspiracies

Three men have been jailed today (1 November 2022) for a total of more than 30 years for their roles in an organised crime network that saw huge quantities of drugs and cash moved between London, the Midlands and the West Country. Adil Riaz, 31, (pictured above) formerly of Grimesthorpe, Sheffield was sentenced to 24…
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Emily MacArthur is wanted

Appeal to find wanted woman Emily MacArthur

Police are appealing for help to locate wanted woman Emily MacArthur who has pleaded guilty to supplying controlled drug spice into prisons and importing class A drugs from Jamaica. MacArthur, 31, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, was last seen in February in Bristol.  She was on bail for the offences and failed to attend Swindon Crown Court…
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Coming together to fight fraud

Fraud is the most commonly experienced crime in the UK costing the country many billions of pounds every year. Recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest that fraud has risen by 25% in the past two years, with 4.5 million offences in England and Wales. In response to this worrying rise, Fraud Protect Practitioners…
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Gabriel COELHO

Importer of Class A drugs hidden in car parts is sentenced to four years

A man who attempted to import a kilo of cocaine from Brazil concealed inside car parts has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison. Gabriel Coelho, 19, from Courtney View, Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, appeared at Bristol Crown Court yesterday (16 August) after pleading guilty to importing a Class A Drug, namely cocaine.…
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Combined powers continue to disrupt the South West drugs market

The second phase of a regional crackdown on drugs has resulted in more than 230 vulnerable adults and children being safeguarded. Operation Scorpion is a collaboration between the five police forces in the South West region (Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire), alongside their respective offices of Police and Crime Commissioners,…
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Man jailed after making plans to sexually abuse a young child

A man from Glastonbury has been sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to meet a young girl he intended to sexually abuse. Paul Hatton, 55, of Benedict Street, Glastonbury pleaded guilty to attempting to arrange or facilitate commission of a child sex offence, and attempting to cause a child under 13 to watch…
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Man jailed for people smuggling

A third person has been jailed for conspiring to smuggle eight Albanian migrants into the UK in a small boat which got stranded near Teignmouth, South Devon, in December 2020. Indrit Barhani, 33, of no fixed address, was sentenced to four years and two months at Exeter Crown Court yesterday (9 June) after pleading guilty…
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Police issue warning to online sex offenders after work by covert officers leads to more than 1,300 arrests

People using the internet to abuse children have been warned that they will be caught, with police revealing that the work of covert online officers has led to more than 1,300 arrests in England and Wales over the past year. Between April 2021 and March 2022, police officers working to catch those who commit sexual…
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Large growth set to continue at regional organised crime units

More than 300 extra police officers have joined regional organised crime units in the past year, with a further 425 set to help tackle issues such as county drugs lines, economic crime and modern slavery by 2023. As part of the Government police uplift programme, which aims to recruit 20,000 new officers by March 2023,…
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