Devon and Cornwall ‘friends and family’ gang smashed by police

Published 28/11/2023 · Updated 28/11/2023

Two days worth of sentencing eventually saw a large number of criminals involved in the supply of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of heroin and cocaine from Merseyside to towns and cities in Devon and Cornwall jailed for more than 86 years [1]. Operation Harbinger 2 was launched in the wake of another operation which saw children used to sell heroin and crack, with dealer lines making around GBP2,000 a day in Exeter [2] alone. Operation Harbinger 1 resulted in a number of offenders jailed in March this year [3] – the investigation covered a 16-month period between October 2020 and February 2022. Information gathered during that inquiry led to a small but dedicated team of specialist officers at Devon and Cornwall Police launch another operation where they found the now-usual County Lines process, but with some unique twists they had not encountered before.

Investigators from the Serious and Organised Crime Team (SOCIT) of Devon and Cornwall Police told DevonLive that the offenders appeared to show a combination of remarkably clever tactics to avoid detection by police but then went on to perform remarkably inept behaviour which sealed their fate. One tactic the gang used was to hire campervans to take a group of the criminals to travel from Liverpool to Devon, effectively mimicking the large number of holidaymakers who regularly travelled to the South West. They would sometimes then set up at a campsite before travelling across Devon and Cornwall to ply their trade and collect payment.

Following on from Harbinger 1, officers noted a number of County Lines – phone lines where dealers use a number to send bulk messages advertising their illegal drugs to addicts in other parts of the country – which crossed over with those they uncovered during the following investigation, using names like “Sonny”, “Ramsey” and “Sunny” lines. They discovered that the Class A drugs were being delivered by couriers who, between late February 2021 and mid-October 2022 would regularly drive from Liverpool to Torbay [4], Exeter, Teignmouth [5], Dawlish, West Cornwall, and north Devon [6] to make their deliveries to local dealers who in turn deal to desperate users. They not only discovered people from Devon and Cornwall were heading north to collect the drugs or deliver money but also elements of the organised crime gang were operating out of London, other parts of northern England and even Spain where key organisers would spend many months lapping up the sun while reaping the benefits of their vile trade.

Police said the higher echelons of the group enjoyed the trappings of drug dealing, taking exceptionally long and lavish holidays in Ibiza.

What are ‘County Lines’?

County Lines sees organised urban crime gangs, from large cities like London, Liverpool and Manchester, dealing in heroin and crack cocaine to smaller locations around the country, often coastal towns, which in the South West includes places such as Newquay, Penzance, Plymouth, Paignton and Torquay. The line refers to the single phone number used by the gang to advertise drugs and organise the sale. The phone itself will be operated from outside the area of sale.

Each phone number is given a brand name like Mitch or Rico. Unlike other criminal activities where telephone numbers are changed on a regular basis, these telephone numbers have value so are maintained and protected – and on occasion can even be sold on like a franchise to another crime boss. The dealers – effectively foot-soldiers sent by the organised crime gang leader – arrive in each town with ready-wrapped deals and immediately start to advertise to their client base.

A G-pack or Grand pack refers to a GBP1,000 of drugs. A customer base is built up over a period of time with street dealers spending long periods of time in the target town – often settling down, finding long-term partners and embedding themselves in the drug community – doing deals to known addicts and acquiring their phone numbers and contact details. These numbers are passed up the line and are keep, resulting in the addict being bombarded with offers and deals to keep them as customers.

A typical message might read ‘Best of both, 24/7’, referring to heroin and cocaine. The gang uses the same marketing strategy as a large company might do. Three or four messages a day to hundreds of people at a time.

Up to GBP5,000 can be taken in a day. The gang will use local runners, addicts or in some cases vulnerable young people, such as teenagers coerced or bullied into the role or people with mental health issues, to deliver drugs to users. The gangs tend to use a local property, generally belonging to a vulnerable person, as a base for their activities.

This is often taken over by force or coercion, and in some instances victims have left their homes in fear of violence. As the County Lines operation moves in, the community begins to suffer in a number of ways. Homes – such as housing association accommodation – are often taken over or ‘cuckooed’ by gang members who are unknown to local police or the community.

They will direct operations from a base for two or three days before moving on. Sometimes the cuckoo-ed are paid in drugs. The operators will invariably target homes belonging to people who are considered vulnerable, either physically or mentally, or are themselves addicts.

They also target women, sometimes girls who have been in relationships with dealers or are addicts. There have been reports of the operators using threats, violence and even sexual assaults to ensure they secure the property. The National Crime Agency’s reports into County Lines notes that dealers have no concerns over exploiting children such as runaways or children in care as well as vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs, often leaving them to suffer arrest and prosecution if caught by police.

A complex and painstaking examination of phone records, messages, cell-site analysis, cross-referenced with CCTV footage from shops, garages, traffic cameras and other private cameras allowed the specialist officers to pinpoint offenders and prove their part in the conspiracy to supply dugs. In all Devon and Cornwall Police uncovered 33 courier runs – although they have said there were undoubtedly more – and 24 “organisational trips” to Devon and Cornwall. During the operation police were able to carry out nine stop searches of vehicles being used by the gang, seizing 15.4 kilos of heroin and cocaine which police have said would have had a street value of a staggering GBP1,409,584.

Officers seized GBP30,089.11 in cash from the gang during the stop-searches and SOCIT officers have said it is very likely they will look to carry out Proceeds of Crime Act orders in due course to remove any ill-gotten booty the criminals have acquired as a result of their illegal exploits. As part of their investigation the SOCIT officers discovered that 20,116 messages had been sent in 662 broadcasts – bulk messages to users – during a six-month period in 2021. This involved more than 40 drug lines – mobile phone numbers – used to send the messages with additional lines identified in Torbay and Exmouth.

In addition they uncovered what police called a “spoofer” phone which was used to call members of the gang based in Devon and Cornwall. The spoofing Sim card – which cost several hundred pounds for a six month pre-paid usage – was used to hide the numbers from police, by changing the phone number on each occasion when it was used to call others. The SOCIT detectives found that over the course of the conspiracy this phone made five trips to Devon and Cornwall using a variety of different vehicles.

Various gang members would be on these journeys. The inquiry also revealed that some members of the gang had “cuckooed” addresses in the South West. Cuckooing is where a vulnerable person – often an addict – is targeted and their home taken over by members of the gang to use as a base of operations.

During a series of arrest operations officers nabbed 13 defendants from Liverpool, Cheshire, Lancashire and London and eight defendants from Devon and Cornwall. Devon and Cornwall-based offenders: Joanna Buchanan, 49, of Shoreside, Shaldon, pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and assisting an OCG.

Benjamin Hopkins, 45, of Shoreside, Shaldon, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, production and possession with intent to supply cannabis and possession of cocaine. Adrian Mulcahy, 36, of Parrys Farm Close, Exmouth [7], pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Dillon Ballard, 28, of Parrys Farm Close, Exmouth, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

John O’Neill, 54, of High Street, Exmouth, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Demelza Trewartha, 48, of Higher Trevithick, Hayle, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. John Ward, 54, of East Cliff Road, Dawlish [8], was found guilty at trial of conspiracy to supply heroin and possession with intent to supply heroin.

He was found not guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine. Richard Morsley, 43, of Town Park, Torrington, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and London-based offenders:

Benjamin Burns, 25, of Homer Road, Prescot, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Christy Keating, 24, of Mckeagney Gardens, Cheshire, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Georgie Keating, 24, of Cromford Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine during trial.

Thomas Keating, 43, of Woolfall Crescent, Liverpool, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Kevin Mallen, 41, of Lincombe Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Christopher Mallen, 65, of Nyland Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

Jake Myers, 23, of no fixed abode, Liverpool, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. James Casey, 45, of River Bank Walk, Colchester, was found guilty of supply heroin and cocaine. Lee Paton, 34, of Kelso Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply amphetamine and heroin.

Taylor Burns, 31, of Berkeley Crescent, Lancashire, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. *no mugshot available* Jamie Marshall, 22, of Burham Close, Penge, London, pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. Maggie Burns, 21, of Homer Road, Prescot, pleaded guilty to money laundering and assisting an OCG.

Dannielle Marshall, 27, of Wichling Close, Orpington, pleaded guilty to money laundering and assisting an OCG. Investigators told DevonLive that the crime group appeared to be “pretty disciplined” and in part this was due to the way the gang was run. In effect it was a “friends and family” with many of those involved either related or in a relationship.

Thomas Keating was the father of Christy Keating and cousin to Georgie Keating and brother to James Casey. Meanwhile Benjamin Burns was the brother of Maggie Burns and partner to Dannielle Marshall. In addition, Jamie and Dannielle Marshall were siblings and Christopher Mallen was the father of Kevin Mallen.

Finally Benjamin Hopkins and Joanna Buchanan were partners.