THE key players in a multi-million pound drugs gang have been jailed for nearly 70 years.

The substantial prison sentences were handed out to five men at Hove Crown Court yesterday by Judge Anthony Niblett after undercover police officers exposed a £12.5 million conspiracy to deal heroin in Brighton, Hove and Eastbourne.

The sentences came as the court learned three heroin-related deaths had been reported in the city this week.

The chain of command began in Liverpool and couriers drove bags of heroin and wads of cash to and from the south coast so it could be cut, bagged up and dished out to streets dealers to be sold.

Lea Smith, 46, of Natal Road, Brighton – described as the “boss man” heading up the Brighton end of the ring – was found guilty in March after a seven-week trial and yesterday he was jailed for 25 years.

Four others admitted their part in the conspiracy.

Jon-Paul Swann, 33, of Colin Drive, Liverpool, was jailed for 15 years.

Eastbourne pair Paul Shannon, 60, of North Street, and Arthur Jones, 55, Downs Avenue, were each sentenced to ten years behind bars.

Neil Ballard, 48, of Hangleton Road, Hove, was handed a seven-year prison term.

But four men – three of whom were from Brighton and admitted their involvement in the plot – died before they could be punished.

Lee Mack, 50, of Sheepcote Valley Caravan Park, died in April and Andrew Antoniou, 58, of Dorset Mews, on May 5, both from cancer.

Kingsley Walls, 44, of Langley Crescent, Woodingdean, died in December from unknown natural causes.

Gang ringleader Thomas Wynn, 49, of Commercial Road, Liverpool, was found dead in a Dubai hotel room in August 2015 while on the run from Sussex Police.  

The gang used couriers to drive the drugs at 60 per cent purity down from Liverpool.

It was then cut and bulked up with caffeine and paracetamol so when it was sold on the streets only 30 per cent was heroin.

During the undercover operation officers gathered evidence on such a large volume of drugs being handled it would equate to one million street deals.

Detectives from Brighton led a series of raids using 100 police officers to swoop on nine houses in Brighton, one in Eastbourne and another in Liverpool.

During the searches six kilos of heroin mixed with a cutting agent were found, with a street value of £600,000, and £50,000 in cash.

They arrested 19 people which resulted in 13 people being charged.

Judge Niblett said the volume of drugs was “astonishing” adding: “It indicates the volume of supply of heroin in this city.”

He said the group would have continued with their criminal lifestyle if they had not been stopped by Sussex officers.

Detective Inspector Julie Wakeford, who led the undercover investigation, Operation Wildwood, said: “Disrupting this network of dealers has meant not only that their heroin has been prevented from being sold on our streets but also by targeting all those involved in their entire network we have achieved a long term disruption of their ability to operate. The sentences send out a message that we will not tolerate the supply of drugs into the city.”

Julie Coltherd, 44, of Langley Crescent, Brighton, who admitted money laundering will be sentenced on Monday.

A jury acquitted Ian Gerald Frost, 49, of St Michael’s Place, Brighton, of conspiracy to supply heroin but he admitted dangerous driving and possession of cannabis.

He has already been handed a 10-month jail sentence and banned from driving for 12 months.

Ronald Edwards, 50, of Chiddingly Close, Brighton and Sean Davidson, 50, of Downhill View, Brighton, were found not guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin.

The jury could not reach a verdict for Louis Makai, 45, of Langridge Drive, Portslade and a re-trial has been set for November.

OFFICERS WORKED DAY IN, DAY OUT TO TRAP DEALERS

OPERATION Wildwood was “all consuming” for police officers investigating the drugs chain.

A small team worked on the case day in, day out, to track every movement, every exchange, every conversation the group had.

The court heard how activity in Brighton primarily focused around Woodingdean.

When officers raided the home of Kingsley Walls in Langley Crescent they discovered bags of paracetamol and caffeine to be used as a cutting agent to bulk out the heroin.

Officers also seized £15,000 from Lea Smith’s safe.

Speaking exclusively to The Argus, Detective Sergeant Julian Deans said the team prepared 130,000 pages of evidence to present in court and officers made more than 50 trips between Liverpool and Brighton following couriers who arranged distribution Their main targets were ringleader Thomas Wynn and his right-hand man Jon-Paul Swann who were organising the distribution of heroin.

But they were led to themthrough Lea Smith, the “boss man” in Brighton.

He was the first man they were after and following his movements helped them establish a chain of command and then find out who was carrying out the “furtive” drug deals.

DS Deans said: “We came into the middle of it. With this job we didn’t see any of that low level supply.

“It was about three months before we did a stop check on Neil Ballard and that led us to up to £20,000 of heroin.”

Ballard was pulled over in Hove and when officers started to search his Ford Focus he became “nervous,” the court heard.

They then raided his house in Hangleton Road where they found bags of cut and pure heroin in a coat.

Smith and Ballard were seen to be frequently in contact.

They were observed meeting at the David Lloyd gym in Brighton Marina before going to Smith’s house in Natal Road and were spotted with a bag.

Detective Inspector Julie Wakeford said while the sentencing is a boost for the team, their work is never done.

She said: “This city has historic links to Liverpool, really well established drugs lines.

“We take one group out and another will come. It’s going to happen all the time.

“There’s the market here for it and the money takes them here.

“Dealers are always going to match what the market wants.

“We do a lot of work with drug treatment services to see how we can help to reduce the demand.

“Our work here is to make sure none of those gangs gain a foothold on the market which can lead to other problems like violence.

“It means we have avoided the sort of gun crime which has happened elsewhere.”

DS Deans said: “Allowing these gangs to operate means there is a ready supply of heroin on the streets.

““It has a knock-on effect on other crimes including shoplifting to pay for their addiction.

“A lot of people who might read the news might question if it is worthwhile if it took so many months. They might ask if we knew it why didn’t we do it there and then?”

But he said the most effective way is taking out the entire ring as they receive much longer prison sentences.

“This sends out a strong warning that if drug dealers come to Brighton they’re going to get 20 plus years.”

DI Wakeford said: “It’s not going to stop them but it’s going to reduce it and disrupt the crime on the streets.”

She said the team worked “day in, day out” to bring in the case and it was “all consuming”.

They called on surveillance teams, financial investigators, and scientists to also work on the operation, equating to hundreds if not thousands of hours of officers’ time.

DS Deans said as well as tackling the criminal underworld of the city, officers fear for the health of users.

“They use cutting agent to bulk out the drug. The danger for users is that they don’t know what is in the drug.

“It could be brick dust, it could be Sussex Downs chalk, it could be paracetamol.

“You’re not going to go to trading standards if it’s no good, you’re not going to call the police. But if it is good you’re going to keep going back.”

The team now investigates all heroin related deaths so it can work back to try and catch those responsible for bringing it on to the streets.

It has looked at 20 so far in the last year.

DI Wakeford said: “This keeps the team motivated because investigating the deaths means coming into contact with the families. It’s very emotional talking to someone’s mum or dad and the impact drugs have had on their child’s life.

“They are the end user, the person who’s addicted.”

Judge Anthony Niblett said drug dealing continued to be a “problem of the greatest significance”, adding: “Heroin has ruined the lives of so many. it is a killer.”

He praised the work of the police team which is funded directly by the police and crime commissioner, in persisting to disrupt the drug dealing network and save lives as a result.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF WITH SMASHING OF DRUGS RING

POLICE and prosecutors spent years working to bring down the drugs gang.

Undercover officers spent nearly a year from 2014 to 2015 gathering evidence before they struck with a series of raids.

Then began the work of the Crown Prosecution Service to build a watertight case which would ensure guilty pleas and convictions.

Judge Anthony Niblett said he had a “long involvement” with the case which has already been subject to a re-trial and four deaths.

Nevertheless the workings of the slick drugs ring – which was run like a commercial business franchise – were picked apart and exposed.

The chain of command began with ringleader Thomas Wynn.

The 49-year-old, of Commercial Road in Vauxhall, Liverpool, died in a Dubai hotel room while on the run from Sussex Police.

He was never charged or brought to justice but Judge Niblett said on the weight of evidence he was satisfied beyond any doubt of his role in the gang.

Wynn was reportedly a former best friend of the assassinated Liverpool gangster George Bromley.

He was also said to be close to fellow Liverpudlian drug lord Curtis Warren who was dubbed Britain’s most notorious drugs trafficker and formerly Interpol’s most wanted.

Second-in-command was Jon-Paul Swann, Wynn’s stepson and described as his first lieutenant and right hand man.

Lea Smith was branded an intelligent, hardened, professional criminal who controlled others likely to be susceptible to his influence – those with addiction or financial problems.

Smith’s criminal lifestyle funded his gambling habit and had previous convictions dating back to the age of 17, showing the “continuing extent” of his criminality, Judge Niblett said.

He deliberately distanced himself from drug distribution but was in contact with all relevant parties of the ring and was the first to make reconnaissance to Liverpool.

He amassed £40,000 of cars and bikes as well as £41,000 paid in to banks in cash and thousands of pounds more linked to him through other means from his way of life.

Paul Shannon and Arthur Jones were the “trusted couriers” who diligently traversed the motorway network to deliver drugs and cash.

Neil Ballard, who has been in custody since November 2014 after being arrested and was jailed for more than three years in 2001 for drug crimes, was the wholesale dealer dishing out to street sellers.