HIDDEN inside a loaf of bread, police made a startling discovery – a bag of drugs beneath the crust.
Detectives found the stash hiding in a loaf of Kingsmill wholemeal after secretly watching a drug deal take place.
It was another piece in the jigsaw of evidence that helped West Midlands Police smash a network of dealers pumping cocaine, cannabis and ketamine onto the region’s streets.
The two-year undercover operation resulted in the convictions of 23 people and jail sentences totalling more than 80 years. At the top of the chain was Terry Gardner, who was jailed for ten years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday.
His lieutenants, Carlton Silvera and Richard Slater and smaller groups they were dealing to, were also convicted in a series of cases that finished yesterday.
Det Insp Bob Bradford, from Force CID, said: “An organised crime group has been removed from our communities.
“These offenders used very sophisticated methods to transport drugs, demonstrating high levels of deceit. They were also very organised.
“They were intent on making money through the distribution of harmful substances, which would go on to cause misery among those most vulnerable.”
A covert surveillance operation was launched in April 2009 following a tip- off about drug dealing in Cannock, Staffordshire.
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