THREE members of a 19-strong gang which ran cocaine between north west England and Wales have been told they cannot complain about their tough jail terms.
Groups based in Liverpool produced and supplied high-purity batches of the class A drug to dealers in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.
Dyfed-Powys Police launched Operation Phobos – its largest ever drugs operation – to tackle the plot and seized 2.7kg of cocaine.
The drugs the gang had peddled to Wales by the time the ring was smashed were worth an estimated £19 million.
Cocaine and cannabis worth £286,000 was also trafficked to Scotland.
Dane Paul Bush and Andrew Huw Price, from the Welsh end of the gang, and Allen Mark Heron, from Liverpool, were all found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Bush, 30, of High Street, St Clears, Carmarthen, was jailed for 11-and-a-half years.
Price, 39, of Pentre Nicklaus Village, Machynys, Llanelli, received a 12-year term, and Heron, also 39, of Rosedale Drive, Netherley, was locked up for 10 years.
All three today challenged their sentences at the Court of Appeal, in London, with their lawyers arguing they were far too tough for their involvement in the plot.
But, dismissing their appeals, Sir David Calvert-Smith said none of the sentences imposed were ‘excessive’.
Sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, he added: “The judge had a complete overview of the entire case and was in by far the best position to assess the sentences in relation to each defendant.”
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