A drug kingpin and his trusted lieutenant helped to flood the UK with heroin worth a staggering £14 million.
Sean Doolan ran an organised crime group , based in Liverpool , that distributed around 150kg of the Class A drug to different cities around the country.
The 32-year-old, his trusted lieutenant Francis Westhead, also from Liverpool , and 18 other gang members were jailed today for over 150 years for their parts in the massive operation that was eventually brought down by the Regional Organised Crime Unit in South Wales.
Newport Crown Court heard that Doolan's distribution network included Cardiff, Newport, Gloucester, Plymouth and Hartlepool.
To run his organisation, Doolan employed a network of couriers to distribute the heroin and deliver cash from the customers to him and Francis Westhead in Liverpool.
The couriers reportedly made over 60 journeys to Liverpool over a seven month period.
One of Doolan’s customers from Newport was Kieran Lewis who was also investigated for a further conspiracy as he supplied heroin to a Newtown based customer Samuel Lewis.
As officers closed in on the huge operation , a series of raids were carried out in south Wales.
In May 2018, six kilograms of heroin was seized from an address in Newport which was forensically linked back to the Sean Doolan OCG.
Just two months later, in July, Ryan Gifford from Caerphilly, was arrested returning from Liverpool in possession of 2.5kg of heroin.
On August 25, 2018, Craig Morgan, from Cardiff, was arrested returning from Liverpool in possession of 3.5kg of heroin and a kilogram of adulterant.
On 12 October 2018, Raymond Lee, from Plymouth, was arrested returning from Liverpool in possession of 5kg of heroin.
Later that month (29 October) two Newport men, Robert McLean and Ryan Morgan were arrested returning from Liverpool in possession of two kilograms of heroin and on the 27 November Dale Millar (from Gloucester) was also arrested.
During a search of his house, 2kg of heroin was seized.
Surveillance carried out by officers throughout Operation Jackdaw, which targeted Doolan's conspiracy, showed Francis Westhead, on September 2, 2018, delivering encrypted phones to Raymond Lee in Liverpool.
A month later, on October 3, Nicholas Evans was spotted carrying a bag which contained heroin after meeting with Raymond Lee after he travelled to Liverpool.
Here is a full list of the 21 men arrested and jailed for their involvement in the operation:
· Sean Doolan, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years
· Francis Westhead, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 11 years 4 months
· Nicholas Evans, from Plymouth, was found guilty following a trial and sentenced to 15 years
· Raymond Lee, from Plymouth, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years
· Kieran Lewis, from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years 8 months
· Spencer Killoran, from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years
· Salman Ali, , from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 9 years 7 months
· Ryan Gifford, from Caerphilly, pleaded guilty and was sentence to 8 years
· Benjamin Morgan, from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6 years
· Dominic Serafin, from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 2 years
· Jan Serafin, from Newport, was found guilty following trial and sentenced to 3 years 6 months
· Robert McLean, from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years 4 months
· Ryan Morgan, from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years 4 months
· Harri Pullen, from Newport, was found guilty following trial and sentenced to 5 years 6 months
· Andre Harrison, from Gloucester, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years 7 months
· Dale Millar, from Gloucester, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 7 years 2 months
· Mohammed Yousef Ali, from Cardiff, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 9 years 7 months
· Craig Morgan, from Cardiff, pleased guilty and was sentence to 6 years 8 months
· Jason Underwood, from Newport, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 8 years
· Samuel Lewis, from Newtown, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years 6 months
Detective Inspector Grant Wilson of Tarian, said: "There is a human cost to the trade of supplying drugs, and we will work tirelessly to stop this.
"I cannot over-emphasise the dangers of heroin and the harm it can cause to the community as a whole.
"It is good to know that these criminals are now behind bars and unable to continue profiting from the misery their trade brings to our neighbourhoods.
“Tarian will continue to work tirelessly alongside other law enforcement agencies to target those involved in the illegal drugs trade and bring them before the Courts.
“I urge anyone with information or suspicions to call 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, to tell us what they know.
"As this case shows, someone who is perceived to be a small-time criminal can often be linked to a much larger operation, and the smallest bit of information can sometimes be the missing piece of the puzzle for our officers.”
