Summary
Members of a Gloucestershire drugs gang that flooded the county with cocaine “worth £2m” have been jailed. Phone videos and social media posts helped police to unmask the five men, whose ringleader advertised blocks of cocaine on social media apps like SnapChat and WhatsApp.
Details
Jordan Ireland, James Blandford, Ashley Booth, Brian Dennis and Scott Capstick were sentenced to more than 36 years in prison between them, following an investigation by Gloucestershire Police‘s Serious and Organised Crime Unit. It was heard the group supplied at least 25kg of the drug, worth an estimated street value of £2 million, between February 2023 and their arrests in September 2024.
Footage found on phones seized as part of the operation showed kilogram blocks of cocaine and cocaine being mixed on a kitchen work surface, with police working to establish where the videos had been filmed and even “people whose hands featured in the videos”. The conspiracy began to unravel after two men, aged 32 and 35, were arrested in 2023 for separate matters.
Their phones were downloaded and revealed evidence that Ireland, aged 29 and of Yorkley Road, Cheltenham, was involved in cocaine supply. He was arrested in connection with an unrelated matter in 2024 and his phone was examined. Further evidence shared with the police from the local community further supported Ireland’s involvement.
Phone evidence showed how Ireland used SnapChat, WhatsApp and other apps to advertise drugs for sale. Police investigated his involvement, alongside that of James Blandford, in the supply of large quantities of cocaine in and around Gloucestershire.
A number of arrest warrants and searches were carried out in September 2024, resulting in large numbers of digital devices being seized and several key videos being uncovered. Police discovered the group made payments of more than £600,000 for high purity cocaine and said there were many more payments with the total not recorded.
A force spokesperson said: “Some of the cocaine was adulterated by the group before being repressed at a local garage controlled by Dennis. He had created a metal mould specifically for repressing kilograms of the adulterated drug to give the impression of a superior quality product.
“The court heard how Ireland played a leading role while Blandford was a trusted lieutenant in charge of money and drugs, who kept things running smoothly.
What You Need to Know
Phone evidence showed how Ireland used SnapChat, WhatsApp and other apps to advertise drugs for sale. Police investigated his involvement, alongside that of James Blandford, in the supply of large quantities of cocaine in and around Gloucestershire.