No5 Barristers’ Chambers was represented by John Butterfield QC, who prosecuted the case together with Sophie Murray.
All eight defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
The gang brought at least 12kg of cocaine – at an estimated value of around £400,000 – into Worcester between 2011 and October 2015.
The police investigation saw the ringleader’s van being bugged to record conversations, the seizing of drugs and analysis of so-called dirty phones, clandestine observations and the arrest of the drug courier on the M6, along with secret dealer associates of the main conspirators.
The arrests and searches led to the police seizing £129,000 of cash and two-thirds of a kilogram of cocaine.
The eight convicted of the cocaine conspiracy are: Lee Bryant, aged 49, of Selborne Road West, Barbourne, Worcester (jailed for four years); David Warren, aged 41, of Grasmere Drive, Warndon, Worcester (jailed for nine years); Ashley James, aged 31, of Cherington Close, Worcester (jailed for 18 years); Deborah Crowther, aged 50, of Hollymount Road, Tolladine, Worcester (jailed for six years); Todd Porter, aged 31 (jailed for 13 years), and Tiffany Porter, aged 21 (two years suspended sentence and 250 hours of unpaid work), of Hollymount Road, Tolladine, Worcester; James Jones, aged 42, of Tolladine Road, Worcester (jailed for 15 years), and Liam Pearson, aged 51, of Aylton Road, Liverpool (jailed for 10 years).
Ashley James and Elizabeth Cottle, both of Cherington Close, were found guilty of concealing criminal property.
Follow the link to read a report of the trial on the Worcester News website:
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/NEWs/15674212.Drugs_conspiracy__gang_of_8_guilty_of_bringing_cocaine_to_Worcester/
