The masterminds of a heroin and cocaine trafficking gang who ferried Class A hauls from Liverpool to Wales were today jailed for a total of almost 35 years.
Paul Hickman was the "controlling mind" of the conspiracies while Joseph Jones was his trusted "lieutenant, working for him on a dad-to-day basis," Liverpool Crown Court was told.
Operation Banjo, launched by Merseyside Police, led to secret surveillance of the serious organised crime group during the eight month blitz, between January to August in 2018.
It was a "county lines" type operation, prosecutor Ben Jones said, with the drugs sourced on Merseyside before being distributed through to lower-level street dealers, mostly in Swansea.
The tactic of "cuckooing” was used, with the placing of young Liverpudlian dealer Luke Donoghue in Thomas Evans' house on the south cast of Wales, to conduct street deals and to report back home to Hickman.
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Detectives were never able to track down the storage and cutting location for this operation, although Jones' address in Aldwark Road, Dovecot was used at times.
Any cutting of drugs took place locally before they were transported to Swansea in wholesale quantities to be divided and bagged.
There were six journeys trailed by cops with a minimum seizure of three ounces of cocaine right up to a maximum recovery of half a kilo of heroin powder and a kilo of cutting agent.
Throughout the period, Hickman used at least 10 "graft" phones, changing them after key arrests, and Jones was seen to change his phone four times.
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Mr Jones said: "This was a well organised operation sourcing wholesale quantities of drugs, the quantities seized might be described as mid-market."
He added: "Significant efforts were made to avoid detection with the threat of force clear from text messages (sent by Hickman and others)."
36-year-old Hickman is currently serving a five-year and three months sentence after a gun was found in his crashed BMW following a police chase on June 13, 2018.
Wholesale quantities of the Class A drugs were cut down from 78% purity to quantities seen in the Swansea seizures of around 20%.
Hickman, of Barchester Drive, Aigburth, was convicted at court of conspiracy to supply cocaine, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, consecutive to his five years and three month term for last year's firearms offence.
Jones, of Aldwark Road, Dovecot, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to eight years behind bars.
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Luke Donoghue, 22, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and previously received three years in prison at Swansea Crown Court.
Wayne Fanning, 47, of Prospect Vale, Tuebrook, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine and previously received six years imprisonment at Swansea Crown Court.
Paul Kinsey, 60, of St Clears Place, Penlan, Swansea, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to Supply Class A controlled drugs and was previously sentenced to five years and 10 months in custody.
Hickman and second-in-command Jones arranged distribution through a network of couriers.
Jones was arrested last May in North Wales with a quarter of a kilo of high purity cocaine and half a kilo of Benzocaine.
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Hickman was arrested in June 2018 following a pursuit by armed police in Roby, during which he overturned his car.
Couriers Donoghue, Fanning and Kinsey were sentenced previously after admitting their involvement in the distribution of drugs.
Speaking after the case North West Regional Organised Crime Unit Detective Inspector, Nick Hughes, said: “Hickman and Jones were extensively involved in the large-scale supply and distribution of drugs and Hickman especially flaunted these ill-gotten gains through the use of expensive cars and property.
"Their activities affected communities in England and Wales and we are pleased that everyone involved has been removed from the streets for the foreseeable future.
“Working alongside all of our regional forces and partners, the NWROCU will continue to proactively tackle criminal gangs who think nothing of flooding the streets with dangerous drugs in order to profit from other people's misery."
