Drug gang jailed for more than three decades

Five members of an organised crime group have been jailed for a combined total of more than 30 years for supplying around £100,000-worth of heroin and crack cocaine across Stafford.

Officers from the town’s local policing team (LPT) conducted an investigation into street level dealing between January 2017 and March 2018.

In February 2017, Everton Nugent, 49, from Stafford, was identified by our officers as being in control of a mobile phone number, or ‘main drugs line’.

Forensic analysis throughout the investigation, described as a masterclass in forensics by the sentencing judge, showed this number to be operating the ‘Sleepy’ drugs line alongside mobiles linked to other gang members.

Nugent and his four associates were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday 2 September after being found guilty of conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine in June this year.

The sentences passed down were:

• Everton Nugent, 49, from Derrington, Stafford, 10 years imprisonment.
• Orlando Grace, 23, from Leytonstone, London, six years imprisonment.
• Nashwaan Ali, 24, from, Walthamstow, London, six years imprisonment.
• Gladstone Facey, 56, from Meade Grove, Manchester, six years imprisonment.
• Darnell McCollins, 23, from Beck Square, London, three-and-a-half-years imprisonment.

Two other men were sentenced to three years and nine months and two years and three months in prison respectively in 2022 after admitting their part in the operation.

Sergeant Thomas Fotherby, from Stafford LPT, led the investigation.

He said: “This is a just result, which reflects the hard work and investigative skills of a number of officers and staff across several different teams and the serious nature of the offending.

“The sale of drugs on our streets brings with it associated anti-social behaviour and violence, and can often result in the exploitation of the most vulnerable members of our communities.

“The tireless work of our teams will never stop and local policing will continue to be at the heart of our commitment to disrupting crime and protecting the people of Staffordshire.”

This follows our ongoing commitment to tackling major and organised crime and protecting those who are at risk of exploitation through Operation Target.

Work is continuing to proactively target the groups responsible for these crimes, including county lines, drug distribution, illegal firearms and sexual exploitation.