The boss of County Lines drugs gang known as the 'Mitch' line was caught with 249 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine inside his body.
Jamal Conteh helped run a drug operation between Liverpool and Macclesfield that earned the gang £140,000 according to prosecutors.
The 22-year-old was in a taxi when it was stopped by police who arrested and searched him, Cheshire Live reports.
A court heard he had two packages containing 249 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine worth an estimated £2,490 concealed in his body.
Zakaria Ahmed, another gang member, took turns in managing the graft phone in Liverpool while Conteh spent his time in Macclesfield dealing the drugs.
When Conteh wanted a break he would order Oluwafemi Odumuyiwa and Cheryl Hamand to deal on his behalf.
Odumuyiwa began hiring vehicles and chauffeured Conteh around Macclesfield to make the drug deals, and both would travel from Liverpool to Cheshire couriering drugs on behalf of the gang.
Hamand would allow the gang to operate from her property in the town.
Officers raided the address in October 2019, discovering 91 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine along with three knives believed to be for protection, and more than £330 in cash.
On 9 July this year Cheshire Constabulary arrested Ahmed at his Liverpool home, where officers discovered £19,470 in cash in his wardrobe along with a Norwegian passport.
The four were sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday.
Conteh, of Newport Road, Northampton, received 12 years, Ahmed, age 24, of Millennium Road, Toxteth, was given seven years and six months.
Odumuyiwa, age 30, of Union Street, Liverpool, received 44 months and Hamand, age 43, of Dawson Road, Macclesfield was given a 31 month sentence.
Sentencing the four at Chester Crown Court, Justice Michael Leeming said: "Conteh and Ahmed worked as a team and recruited and exploited others to assist.
"This was undertaken with complete disregard for the impact on society and the way in which drugs wreck people lives and lead to increased crime as users commit crimes to fund their addiction – the misery that creates has been caused or at the very least contributed to by each of one of you."
Justice Leeming added that "youths were used to reduce the risk to you Conteh and they were exploited by you because of their age"
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After the sentencing, Detective Inspector Adam Alexander said: “I welcome the sentences passed down by the courts today. This gang brought misery to the people of Macclesfield while relying on vulnerable youths to help deal drugs for them on their behalf.
“I’d like to say thank you to the officers who helped apprehend and bring this gang to justice over the 12-month operation.
“Illegal drugs have a devastating impact on local communities so by cutting off the supply and removing dealers from our streets, we are working to break the cycle of serious and organised crime and make Macclesfield a safer place.
“I hope that this sentence acts as a deterrent to anyone who feels that they can travel into Cheshire for their own selfish criminal gain.”
Detective Constable Luke Browczuk, of Macclesfield County Lines BIT Team, said: “We were determined to bring these criminals to justice and prevent them bringing more heartache to the town. I hope the residents of Macclesfield feel safer in the knowledge that this gang is off the streets.
“This case proves that crime does not stop at the border and no matter where you are from, if you are coming to Macclesfield to deal drugs, we will identify you and hold you responsible for your actions.”
Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane said: “Organised crime gangs bring misery not only to the victims but to communities around them.
“I would urge anyone who has any concerns about illegal drug activity in their neighbourhoods to get in touch with Cheshire Constabulary."
Two more defendants, Ammin Hassan and Edson Pereira, will be sentenced in the new year.
