Organised crime group flooded Derry with £1million of drugs from Britain

Four men sentenced for range of offences but alleged ringleader yet to be arrested

Four men were sentenced (today) for their roles in an organised crime group which flooded Derry with over £1 million worth of drugs from Britain.

At Derry Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, Nadeem Yasin, 44, of Hodge Hill Road, Birmingham, and Llewellyn Jones, 52, of Abbeyville Court in Port Talbot, Wales, were sentenced to 18 months, divided equally between custody and probation.

Yasin pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class B and Class C drugs, and assisting in the supply of a restricted medical product, namely Pregabalin.

Jones pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A and Class C drugs, assisting in the supply of Pregabalin, possessing criminal property and transferring criminal property.

Matthew Compton, 26, of Spring Lane, Birmingham, received a 12 month sentence suspended for two years after he admitted being concerned in the supply of Class A, B and C drugs and supplying Pregabalin.

Michael Archer, 32, of Wheatcroft Drive Birmingham, received a three-month sentence suspended for a year after he pleaded guilty to supplying Pregabalin. The offences were committed on dates between May 2017 and January 2020.

It was the prosecution case that as a result of the “widespread drug problem in the North West” an operation was mounted against an organised crime gang headed up by someone who is still wanted for arrest. The defendants were described as playing “very distinct and essential roles in what was a sophisticated operation”.

Jones was described on prosecution papers as a “drop shipper” who advertised the drugs on WhatsApp groups and Facebook. He took the orders from customers, received the money for the drugs and forwarded it to the alleged ringleader.

Following the recovery of a mobile phone from a Derry-based drug dealer, Jones was identified, leading to a search of his home where his phone and computer were seized.

Police also recovered a list containing 45 different products which was marked with the words “significant discount available for bulk orders”.

“Extensive examination of his phone and digital media made it plain Jones was involved in supplying drugs on a very large scale.’’

During police interviews he admitted his involvement in the supply of drugs with the ringleader, the court heard.

“He said he would get orders and send them onto [the alleged ringleader] who would then send them to a poster/packer. Jones would receive the money into one of his bank accounts and send it onto [the alleged ringleader],” the court was told.

“He candidly admitted he was posting £15,000-£20,000 in cash per week to [the alleged ringleader] who supplied 90 per cent of his drugs to Northern Ireland. He said he sent [the alleged ringleader] around £1.5 million over an 18 month period.”

Yasin was described as a “store keeper/dispatcher” and on January 8, 2020 at 5.30 am police searched his home and recovered an iPad, two money counters and computers.

“A jotter containing financial information revealed incomes of around £150,000 in July, August and September 2019, almost half a million pounds.”

One message on his phone read: “Northern Ireland is very hot at the moment. Parcels should not be sent.”

At police interview he accepted posting parcels of Class C drugs to Northern Ireland. Compton’s role was described as a “postman or courier” who collected parcels and posted them onwards.

In April 2019, police observed him carrying a Royal Mail postbag. A package was seized which contained parcels which were to be posted across the UK along with Germany, Switzerland and the USA.

The prosecutor said: “Surveillance evidence showed Compton attending a shipping container controlled by Nadeem Yasin to collect the drugs and post them on.”

The court heard Archer was used in a “limited fashion” and his fingerprints were found on one box of Pregabalin discovered at his home.

At the outset of his sentencing remarks, the Recorder of Derry Judge Neil Rafferty KC said he had been previously addressed by PSNI Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney.

“She addressed me orally regarding the drug situation in the city and drug deaths in the city,” said Judge Rafferty.

“Of 13 associated deaths, ten were suspected of being related to substance abuse of Class C drugs or associated prescription drugs. I make it absolutely clear that none of the defendants is in any way linked to those deaths.

“However, I have included it in my sentencing remarks as a stark reminder of the scale of Class C drug abuse and the dangers and tragedies associated with such drug use. Prescription drugs are not safe.”

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