A County Lines drug gang that exploits vulnerable people and brings a pound of heroin or crack to Devon has been jailed for a total of 23 years. The Manchester-based County Lines operation was captured because its members behaved so badly in the homes and hotels where they stayed, leading to several police calls.
They “croaked” to an addict in a wheelchair in Exeter and used an empty apartment in Exmouth while the owner was gone. Chief organizer Sean O’Neill stayed with his girlfriend at the state-of-the-art Hotel du Vin in Exeter and other hotels and was told by police when officers noticed thousands of pounds in cash.
Some gang members were arrested several times and released under investigation, but immediately returned to business, sending thousands of text messages to customers each week. They used the street names Manc P and Black P and sent a total of 20,688 texts in just four months, running at about 170 a day.
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Police tracked down at least 16 trips from Manchester to Exeter, during which two female couriers brought drugs worth thousands of pounds to Devon and took back large amounts of money. O’Neill, 35, of Knut Street, Partington, Manchester, and Williams, 29, of Partington, both pleaded guilty to plotting to supply Class A drugs. O’Neill was jailed for six years and three months and Williams for four years and six months.
Samuel Allen is in prison for drug crimes
Ashley Duhani, 35, of Lock Lane, Manchester, admitted possession with intent to supply and possess extreme pornography and was in prison for four years and ten months. Samuel Allen, 29, was jailed for seven and a half years in an earlier hearing after admitting the same plot and another drug trafficking case.
Judge Timothy Rose told them: “This was a significant, very meaningful and very destructive operation on the county lines, which caused chaos in the local communities. You have exploited others who were involved in your operation, and you have caused a lot of misery and chaos. You were guided by only one consideration and that was money.
Ashley Duhany
Mr Joss Tyshurst, a prosecutor, said the plot lasted between April and August 2019 and the gang first caught the attention of police for its antisocial behavior while crouching addicted to a wheelchair in Saudernhay, Exeter. Over the next four months, there were a total of four drug seizures worth £ 11,000, the most recent being at the Southgate Mercure Hotel, where officers called police for their disobedience.
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They operated through a telephone line called Manc P or Black P, which was usually in the hands of O’Neill or his lieutenant Williams. The number of delivery trips and text ads suggest that they sold at least one kilogram of drugs in four months.
All the accused and the couriers claimed to be innocent holidaymakers when questioned by police. Duhani and Allen were also caught involved in a related operation called Mank Todd in late 2018, when police found videos on Duhani’s phone of a woman having sex with a dog and a man having sex with a goat.
Samuel Williams
Mr Dominic Thomas of O’Neill and Miss Rachel Smith of Williams said they had both gotten out of trouble, found work and started families in the time it took to get to court.
Mr Will Darrands, on behalf of Duhani, said that his pornography had been sent unsolicited and that he had not been able to delete it. He has three young sons, whom he will miss while in prison.
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