Crime group leader jailed over drugs supply charges

The leader of an organised crime group (OCG) involved in supplying Class A drugs in Nottinghamshire has been jailed for 13 years.

Mark Malone, 36, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug and to possession of a firearm and ammunition when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday.

Officers said "vast amounts" of cocaine and heroin were supplied and then distributed in Nottinghamshire during the OCG's large-scale operation, which ran between June 2022 and January 2023.

Det Ch Insp Mark Adas, of Nottinghamshire Police, said Malone "presented some real risk to Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire communities".

Malone, of HMP Peterborough, was taken to court following an "extensive police investigation", led by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), which focused on two OCGs from Manchester and Nottinghamshire.

EMSOU said members used different mobile phones to arrange the movement, storage and sale of controlled drugs.

During the investigation, officers arrested a suspect and seized two half kilogram (1.1lb) blocks of heroin after stopping a car in Mappleton Drive, Mansfield, in January 2023.

A series of warrants led to further drugs seizures and arrests at numerous addresses, including in Edwinstowe, Hucknall, Bulwell and Radcliffe-on-Trent, between January and March 2023.

Six other men, who were part of the cross-county drug supply, were jailed for a combined total of nearly 50 years when they were sentenced earlier this month.

Det Ch Insp Mark Adas added: "To know that these men will all now spend a significant spell behind bars is a really positive result and should be a stern warning to anyone looking to profit from drug dealing."

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