Five men involved in Eastern Hampshire drugs supply conspiracy have been convicted at trial

Five men have been convicted for their involvement in the supply of cocaine and cannabis in the Waterlooville, Gosport, Emsworth and Portsmouth areas between September 2019 and April 2022, following a 6 week trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The investigation, led by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit with support from the Eastern Area Crime Team and Neighbourhood Policing Teams, was launched after police identified that 60-year-old Stephen Lyons was involved in the purchase and supply of multiple kilos of cocaine from at least September 2019 onwards.

The case that was subsequently taken to court involved forensic evidence from large sums of cash that were seized, encrypted mobile phones and associated drug supply messages, drugs and paraphernalia seizures, and surveillance evidence.

Lyons, along with 39-year-old Peter Morrison, worked together to source large quantities of cocaine and cannabis using the encrypted messaging service EncroChat. They then used 60-year-old Kenneth Guy’s home address in North End to store and prepare the drugs for sale in a secure back bedroom they called “the den”.

Mobile phone messages identified a further suspect – 48-year-old David Roberts – who was a customer of Lyons and Morrison, with cocaine subsequently being recovered from his address in Emsworth in 2021. The investigation found that he had been supplied with 2 kilos of cocaine.

Police were able to hack the PIN code for two mobile phones from Roberts’ son Max, which revealed a separate Emsworth-based cocaine supply conspiracy that involved David and Max Roberts, 25-year-old George Barnes, and others. Max Roberts and Barnes were also involved in a vehicle stop check in Waterlooville in April 2022 where more than £20,000 of cocaine - just under half a kilogram - was seized by officers.

On Thursday 13 June this year, a jury at Portsmouth Crown Court returned the following verdicts:

• Stephen Lyons, 60, of Curlew Gardens, Waterlooville, was found guilty of –
• 1. Conspiracy to supply cocaine between Sept 2019 and June 2021 with Peter Morrison, Kenneth Guy and others.
• 2. Conspiracy to supply cocaine between March 2020 and April 2021 with Peter Morrison and David Roberts.
• 3. Conspiracy to supply cannabis between Sept 2019 and June 2021 with Peter Morrison and others.
• 4. Conspiracy to transfer criminal property (cash) between Sept 2019 and Nov 2019 with Mahmoud Lebleb (who was previously jailed for this offence in September 2023).
• 5. Conspiracy to transfer criminal property (cash) between Nov 2019 and June 2021 with Peter Morrison and others.
• 6. Failing to comply with a Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) notice ordering the disclosure of the PIN to an EncroChat handset
• 7. Possession with intent to supply Class C drugs (benzodiazepines).
• Kenneth Alan Guy, 60, of Cardiff Road, Portsmouth, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
• David Roberts, 48, of Victoria Road, Emsworth, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine with Lyons and Morrison, conspiracy to supply cocaine with Max Roberts and George Barnes, and possession of criminal property.
• Max Anthony Roberts, 26, of Victoria Road, Emsworth, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of criminal property (cash). He had also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and ketamine at a previous hearing.
• George Barnes, 25, of Silverlock Place in Emsworth was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine. He had also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis at a previous hearing.

Peter Ashley Morrison, 39, of Bromyard Crescent in Portsmouth, had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine with Stephen Lyons, Kenneth Guy and David Roberts, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to transfer criminal property (cash).

Lyons, Guy, Max Roberts and David Roberts were remanded in custody by Judge Ashworth to await sentencing, whilst Barnes was released on bail.

David and Max Roberts, and Barnes will be sentenced on 12^th August 2024. Lyons, Guy and Morrison will be sentenced on 6^th September 2024.