Gang who supplied cocaine in Hampshire and laundered millions in cash has been jailed

A drugs gang that supplied cocaine across Portsmouth and laundered millions of pounds in cash has been jailed.

Gang leader Louis Edwards, aged 44, of Churchill Close in Waterlooville, was jailed for 18 years and 5 months at Winchester Crown Court on Tuesday 5 September following a five year police investigation, during which he was extradited back to the UK from Spain.

Appearing at the same court previously on 24 July 2023, Edwards admitted conspiring to supply cocaine in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas, and conspiring to transfer criminal property – relating to approximately £3.5million of cash that he moved.

All of the offences took place between March 2018 and May 2020.

Seven other people who were involved were convicted of offences in June 2022 and sentenced in November as follows:

• Mahmoud Lebleb, aged 34, of Summit Road in Northolt, Middlesex was jailed for 5 years and 6 months following his conviction for conspiracy to transfer criminal property, relating to moving more than £10million in cash around the UK.
• Gary Lay, aged 49, of Strode Road in Portsmouth, was jailed for 4 years 10 months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
• Paul Louis Peter Revill, aged 43, was jailed for 27 months (reduced from 38 months on appeal) for being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
• Kevin McCall, aged 39, of St Pauls Road in Southsea, was jailed for 3 years for possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
• Alfred Shortman, aged 32, of Kendal Avenue in Portsmouth, was jailed for 2 years 6 months for possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
• Perry Blackford, aged 34, of Dover Road in Portsmouth, was jailed for 2 years 3 months for conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
• Daniel Saunders, aged 50, of Nelson Avenue in Portsmouth, was handed an 18 week sentence suspended for 12 months for possession of cocaine.

Edwards was the head of the organised crime group, with the other defendants playing key roles in moving cash and drugs for him. In total, it’s estimated that Edwards’ operation sold 60kg of cocaine in Portsmouth.

Lay, McCall and Blackford assisted with the movement of cash and drugs – with couriers with professionally built hidden compartments inside vehicles used in the transportation – while Shortman was a customer who bought large quantities of cocaine from Edwards for onward sale.

Lebleb, however, worked within another organised crime group but laundered large quantities of cash for members of Edwards’ gang.

The defendants used encrypted mobile phones, and Edwards was found to have ordered multiple kilos of Cocaine in April and May 2020 via EncroChat – an encrypted messaging platform which was infiltrated by law enforcement agencies in 2020.

In a bid to evade justice, Edwards fled to Spain in October that year, but was located hiding out in Benidorm in June 2022 before being extradited to the UK.

Prior to leaving the UK, however, he enjoyed his ill-gotten gains, buying himself a new car, a 4 bedroom house, and a holiday to Dubai. He also splashed thousands of pounds on designer goods from Harrods in London.

The recent convictions of these eight defendants follows the sentencing of five other criminals, who were snared as part of this investigation for drugs supply after police raided a lockup in Clamp Farm, Newtown, back in 2019 which was linked to Edwards.

The following individuals previously received a combined jail term of more than 37 years:

• Lee Matthews, aged 39, of Field Way, Denmead was jailed for 15 years in January 2021 for conspiracy to supply cocaine and amphetamine.
• Jason Stanley, aged 23, of Lovedean Lane, Waterlooville, was jailed for 7 years 6 months in January 2021 for conspiracy to supply cocaine and amphetamine.
• Robert Hey, aged 43, of Hollam Road, Portsmouth, was jailed for 7 years 6 months in January 2021 for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
• David Mulvoy, aged 39, of Kirpal Road, Portsmouth, was jailed for 7 years 4 months in September 2019 for possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
• Kevin Franks, aged 53, of Oriel Road, Portsmouth, was given an 18 month sentence, suspended for 24 months in February 2020 for being concerned in supply of cannabis and possession of a prohibited weapon.

In total over the course of the investigation conducted by the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, police seized around £300,000 in cash, more than 70kg of cocaine with an estimated street value exceeding £7million, and more than 20kg of amphetamine.

Upon sentencing Edwards this week, Her Honour Judge Angela Morris commented: “There is no dispute that you were the person at the head of this OCG and in charge of recruitment, training and direction of operatives.

“This was a highly sophisticated operation involving the wholesale acquisition of importation grade cocaine which was then distributed to others.

“I am satisfied that you were involved in the sale of more than 60 kilograms of cocaine and at a rate of more than 1 kilogram of cocaine per week.

“As the leader of this OCG you were sourcing import grade cocaine from a major national supplier, and given the quantities and purity of the drug, this had to be either the importer of it or someone very close to the importer with whom you were dealing.

“I have considered your involvement by reference to a number of different factors which include the surveillance evidence, the telephone evidence, the dates when drugs were seized from operatives and other premises and the actions of you and others involved in your OCG, which includes the Clamp Farm search and seizure on 2 October 2019 when the police found 64 kilograms of import grade cocaine in one search.

“By that stage your OCG had been operating for at least 12 months and even if I take a generous apportionment of it between your OCG and the national operation as being half the seizure – that means 32 kilos of import grade cocaine being warehoused for your OCG operation in a 6 month period from when the tenancy at Clamp Farm was signed.

“The truth is that your motivation was purely financial and you enjoyed the fruits of that operation for a lengthy period of time without any regard for the consequences to others.”

Eastern Area Commander, Chief Superintendent Clare Jenkins, said: “This was a significant piece of work by a dedicated team of investigators, whose efforts have ensured that a sophisticated organised crime group has been disrupted. Our communities are safer now because of this.

“The sentences passed illustrate the consequences of becoming involved in drug supply in the first place.

“We do not tolerate any form of drug supply, or the associated criminal exploitation and harm that comes with committing these offences. Organised criminal gangs, as seen in this case, or individuals who intend to distribute quantities of drugs on our streets will be identified and stopped.

“Tackling these criminal networks is a priority for us as a Constabulary. In addition to the excellent work carried out by specialist detectives, we also have a number of other teams pulling together to develop the wider intelligence picture surrounding drugs supply. Visible local policing is absolutely crucial and our neighbourhood officers, District Policing Teams, Priority Crime Teams and proactive Roads Policing Unit officers are just some of the teams committed to relentlessly pursuing criminals and preventing drug-related harm.

“I would urge anyone in our communities with information about drug dealing in their neighbourhood to report it to police so that we can build the bigger picture, take action against those responsible for making the lives of others a misery, and ultimately keep people safe.”