Organised crime gang members jailed following drugs and drone conspiracy

Four members of an organised crime gang (OCG) supplying heroin, cocaine and cannabis in Staffordshire have been locked up.

The OCG was bought down following an investigation by officers from our child exploitation team.

The OCG was responsible for supplying drugs throughout the north of Staffordshire between September 2023 and May 2025.

The group also conspired to fly a drone carrying drugs and phones into HMP Garth, near Leyland, Lancashire.

Following a series of coordinated warrants in May last year, four men were arrested and charged after drugs, mobile phones and cash were seized.

They were sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Monday (2 March) after pleading guilty to several charges at an earlier hearing.

Ryan Porter, 28, of Kidsgrove, was jailed for six-years-and-four-months, and a further eight years to run concurrently, for conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (cocaine), conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (MDMA) and conspiring to supply a class B drug (cannabis).

Benjamin Stanfield, 25, of Kidsgrove, was jailed for five-years-and-one-month, and a further six-and-a-half-years to run concurrently, for conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (cocaine), conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (MDMA), conspiring to supply a class B controlled drug (cannabis) and conspiring to bring / throw / convey a List ' A ' prohibited article into / out of a prison.

Joshua Stanfield, 22, of Kidsgrove, was jailed for three-years-and-three-months, and a further two-years-and-three-months, for conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (cocaine), conspiring to supply a class B controlled drug (cannabis) and conspiring to bring / throw / convey a List ' A ' prohibited article into / out of a prison.

Shea Rafferty, 23, of Norton, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for three-years-and-four-months, and a further four years to run concurrently, for conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (heroin), conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (cocaine) and conspiring to supply a class B controlled drug (cannabis).

Ryan Porter

Joshua Stanfield

Benjamin Stanfield

Shea Rafferty

Detective Inspector James Sproson, the senior investigating officer on the case, said: “I welcome the sentences handed to the defendants and I hope that they act as a warning to those involved in the sale of illegal drugs.

“Throughout our investigation, a number of children were identified as being involved with the drug supply and concerns around exploitation in relation to them have been addressed.

“Child exploitation of any sort will not be tolerated in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

"Dedicated teams have been set up to target those individuals who would seek to utilise children in any form of criminality and bring them to justice.”

These sentences follow our ongoing commitment to proactively target serious and organised crime across Staffordshire.

Through Operation Target we have been working hard to identify, disrupt and pursue criminals who plan, organise and commit serious criminal offences, including county lines drug supply, illegal firearms, knife crime, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

If you have any concerns around drug dealing in your community, contact us by calling 101, or via Live Chat on our website.

Or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.