Gang who flooded Devon with cannabis jailed

Oldest local courier is 72-year-old Yeoford pensioner who dealt drugs via his son

An organised crime group flooded Devon and Somerset with more than a million pounds of cannabis in just six months, but its leaders are this week starting prison sentences after being foiled by the south west's regional organised crime unit.

Between April and October last year the main gang, based in the West Midlands, travelled to Devon by car and train with packages of the class B drug. At least 56 journeys were made - more than two a week on average.  They were eventually intercepted delivering a consignment of drugs in Topsham. This led to arrests in Wolverhampton and Exeter and the unravelling of a drugs business that has led to convictions for 10 people, and immediate prison sentences for seven, totalling 27 years. The ringleader, 46 year-old Fatus Metua, used couriers to transport cannabis from the Midlands to Devon up to four times a week. He's starting a prison sentence of five years and four months.

The drugs were supplied to three different drug syndicates in Exeter for onward distribution:

• Roy Walters, aged 72, from Yeoford in Devon met the Wolverhampton couriers in Exeter, making cash payments for drugs which had been delivered to his son, 37-year-old Steven Walters from Copplestone. Steven then distributed the drugs in mid-Devon.
• Aidan Northern, 29, from Wellington, collected drugs from the couriers before storing them with his criminal associate, 36-year-old Neil Mounce from Exeter. The drugs were then distributed in Exeter, Taunton and Wellington. Northern made regular large cash payments to the couriers following drug sales.
• Gulam Choudhury, 44, from Exeter had quantities of drugs delivered to his home and his criminal associate, 40-year-old Hannan Miah, from Topsham, by the couriers. They then supplied local associates in Devon and Cornwall. Choudhury made regular cash payments to the courier from his home.

Three of the local dealers, Steven Walters, Aiden Northern and Gulam Choudhury each received a 32-month jail sentence. Roy Walters received a four-month sentence suspended for 12 months for conspiracy to supply cannabis and money laundering, 

Deputy Senior Investigating Officer Detective Sergeant Daniel Bickford, from the SW ROCU, said: “Operation Corinth was a complex investigation led by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit in conjunction with Devon and Cornwall and West Midlands Police which tackled an organised crime group from Wolverhampton supplying over a million pounds worth cannabis into Devon and Somerset."