Four men from Chester and Ellesmere Port have been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for their part in a conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine in Blacon.
The gang, who appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday (April 28), had plied their trade from 8am onwards most week days on the Clifton Drive flood plain in Chester.
Louis Sharp, 29, of Blacon Point Road, Blacon, received four years and four months.
Nathan Lloyd, 42, also of Blacon Point Road, was sentenced to three years and four months.
Lee Baldwin, 35, of Stanley Street, Chester, received a three-year sentence.
Lee Downes, 27, of Conway Court, Ellesmere Port, was given two years and six months.
The court heard that they would hide drugs in the bough of a tree in the field and arrange to meet drug users nearby.
The police recovered a mobile phone used by the gang to keep in contact with drug users, which was used to send and receive more than 13,000 calls and text messages over a period of three months.
Sgt Mark Woollam said: “At a very minimum each drug deal is worth £20, for one small bag of heroin and one crack cocaine rock.
“If each text or call resulted in one such deal, over the course of a year you are looking at potential one million pounds of business.”
Sharp and Lloyd were arrested by police on the morning of January 30, 2015.
Sharp had a one ounce lump of crack cocaine in his coat pocket, with a street value of more than £3,000.
Downes was arrested along with Baldwin on the Clifton Drive flood plain and found in possession of more than £800 in cash and the gang’s mobile.
A police search of the flood plain recovered a further 60 street deals of heroin and crack cocaine with a value of £600.
Chester Outer Neighbourhood Policing Unit inspector Brian Green added: “This gang’s activities had a direct impact on the local community, not just the dog walkers and others using the fields.
“We received complaints of drug users using the area which was causing anxiety to local residents.
“During the investigation it became clear that people were travelling from far and wide to buy heroin and crack cocaine from this gang.
“I am very pleased that these four men have been brought to justice.”
