Brixton Drug Gang Get Long Sentences

A gang of criminals who ran a lucrative drug dealing network from a car tyre shop in Brixton were sentenced last week to a total of 81 years in prison.

Nine men, who were previously convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, appeared at Kingston Crown Court today to hear their sentences.

The drug supplying gang were targeted during a proactive intelligence-led operation by officers from the Middle Market Drugs Partnership (MMDP).

During a nine-week trial, the court heard how the network used Zak's Tyres in Pulross Road, Brixton, as the hub of their operation.

A further two properties, including a house in Kensington and a home address in Brixton, were used to prepare and package drugs worth £160,000.

Searches of these properties by officers uncovered a hydraulic press, used to re-package drugs once they had been adulterated for sale on the street, large quantities of cocaine and cutting agents, used to bulk-out the drugs.

Further searches of the defendants' homes uncovered £65,000 cash, some of which was hidden behind a sofa. This money has now been seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act and will be subject to a confiscation hearing in the near future.

Detective Sergeant Richard Noble, from the Middle Market Drugs Partnership said: "In undertaking this operation the Metropolitan Police Service, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and City of London Police on the MMDP have worked tirelessly with local police in Lambeth to dismantle a group of criminals, who have caused great harm to the area through the supply of cocaine.

"Their prison sentences should go a long way in reassuring the public that we are dedicated to removing drugs and those supplying them from the streets of the capital."

(BMcC/GK)