A Warwick man is among the 21 members of an organised crime group to be jailed for trafficking drugs from Merseyside to Warwickshire, West Midlands, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire.

The group has been jailed for a combined total of over 165 years.

Throughout the investigation officers seized drugs with a street value of £1.3million and £10,000 in cash as well as 15 guns.

In summing up, the judge estimated the gang transported 60kg of class A drugs during the period investigated.

The five-year investigation, led by Warwickshire Police Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), concluded last week when the final defendant was found not guilty of drug supply offences. 

In November 2022, Oliver Bailey, 31, formerly of Landor Road, Warwick was jailed for nine years and nine months having pleaded guilty to supplying drugs and possession with intent to supply drugs.

Christopher Reeve was head of the gang and he orchestrated the supply from Liverpool and the Bickerstaffe area. When he was not available, his partner Sarah Reeve would step in to run the operation.

Garvey Thompson who - despite being in prison - illegally obtained a phone to control the drug supply line into Warwickshire. There was also evidence he had planned for drugs to be delivered into the prison by drone.

The policing operation hit the gang at every level, from Reeve and Thompson at the top of the chain right down to street dealers.

The pair employed couriers – including Thomas Bash, Lewis Mowat and David Burdett – to carry out supply runs across county borders.

Officers analysed phone records that showed more than 14,000 communications took place between Reeve and the other defendants. The content of many of these was believed to be planning drug runs across the country.

Officers also managed to link many of these messages to trips made by the defendants which they believe were drug deliveries.

The phone analysis and a covert operation helped to piece together all the players in the operation.

Between October 2017-September 2018 officers executed five warrants at properties in Leamington and Daventry.

On 3 August 2018, Sarah Reeve and Mowat set off from Liverpool with 3kg of high-purity cocaine in their car. Officers uncovered CCTV of them stopping for breakfast at McDonalds and passing through the M6 toll road.

Officers stopped the car on the A5 near Rugby, seizing the drugs and arresting Sarah Reeve and Mowat. A seized phone showed Christopher Reeve had orchestrated the delivery and Sarah Reeve and Mowat both had full knowledge of the operation.

On 12 September 2018, officers executed a warrant in Sturdee Close, Daventry, Northamptonshire, the home address of Caroline Dalley. During this warrant 877g of heroin, 4.15kg of cocaine, 13kg of Amphetamine, 20kg of cannabis resin, 6049 ecstasy tablets, 896g of MDMA and 378g of Crack Cocaine were seized with a street value in excess of £830,000. Significant quantities of mixing and bulking agents were also recovered, along with a number of shotgun cartridges.

On 14 September 2018, officers raided a trailer in Wolfhampcote owned by Burdett where they seized drugs, 15 firearms and ammunition. Forensics linked the seizure to David Burdett, Christopher Reeve and Thomas Bash.

The longest sentence went to Christopher Reeve who was jailed for 17 years having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs and possession of a firearm.

Det Sgt Sarah Wolsey from Warwickshire Police said: "This was a long and complex investigation that has helped to bring down a major drug supply network worth millions of pounds.

"We took out criminals at every level of this sophisticated operation; from the top man, Christopher Reeve, to the runners who were doing his dirty work on the streets.

"The result was thanks to the dedication of everyone involved who worked tirelessly to secure evidence and bring these dangerous offenders to justice. They never lost focus on their role in protecting people from harm and reducing the detrimental impact of drugs and violence in our communities."