Drugs gang leader who lived in a 'murky world' jailed for 12 years

Joshua Conroy ran a drugs operation from a yard in Trimdon, County Durham, under the guise of a legitimate dog breeding business.

But in reality he was cutting heroin and supplying it to street dealers and was using threats and intimidation to deal with adversaries as part of a "murky world".

Illegal weapons, including sawn-off-shotguns and drugs were found by police who mounted a major covert operation to try to stop Conroy and his gang.

Detectives from Cleveland Police were commended for their "painstaking and methodical" work in bringing the gang to justice, as Judge Tim Gittins sentenced seven people at Newcastle Crown Court.

He said the gang lived in a "murky world" and were responsible for bringing a significant amount of illegal drugs on to Teesside’s streets.

One evening Conroy and three other gang members ramraided a home in Daleville Road, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, which belonged to the mother of a rival, with modified 4x4s, causing £5,200 of damage.

Judge Gittins said: “There was some devastation caused to her by your actions, let alone the concern of other residents nearby seeing these vehicles engaged in such wanton violence. You even stopped to take photographs of the damage you had caused, superimposed with emojis, showing an extreme admiration of your handiwork.”

Straight afterwards the men, wearing balaclavas, went to quiet Wellburn Street in Stockton and rammed a Ford Focus so hard it pushed it into a neighbouring garden.

A painstaking police operation and raids on properties uncovered illegal sawn-off shotguns, rifles, and a revolver as well as ammunition, drugs, and cash.

There were also incidents involving guns being shot in the street.

Conroy, 28, of HMP Durham, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for two offences of conspiracy to cause criminal damage, one offence of possessing a prohibited firearm, one of conspiracy to supply heroin and one of possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

An associate Michael Sinclair, 28, of Water Avens Way, Stockton, was jailed for five years and three months for two charges of conspiracy to cause criminal damage, possession of cocaine with intent to supply and production of cannabis.

Nathan Asquith, 28, of Ramsbury Avenue, Stockton, was jailed for eight months for conspiracy to cause criminal damage, after being in a modified 4x4 with the others when it was used to ramraid a home.

Mark Oliphant, 43, of Cranbourne Terrance, Stockton, was jailed for five years for possession of a prohihited firearm, possession of an unlicensed rifle, and pos-session of cannabis with intent to supply.

Anthony Walker, 29, of Stafford Close, Thornaby, was sentenced to eight months for conspiracy to cause criminal damage.

And Christopher Davis, 28, of Kesteven Road, Middlesbrough, was jailed for three years and one month for handling stolen goods, conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, and possession of a shotgun without a licence.

Conroy’s then-girlfriend Paige Nixon, 24, of Trimdon Avenue, Middlesbrough was given an 18-month community order with 150 hours of paid work for using criminal property – in other words, receiving money from him which was earned through criminality, although she was said not to be aware of the full scale of the criminal operation.

• Judge Gittins commended the Cleveland Police officers who worked on the case for a ‘thoroughly meticulous and well-planned operation’.

He said: “This was a lucrative operation as a wholesale class A drug dealer in the form of heroin. Sometimes this will have required a show of force and sometimes there must be a demonstration of power of that force.”

He said to Conroy: “It is clear that you had a management function with a lower chain beneath you.”

Detectives from Cleveland Police were praised by Judge Gittins as he commended their painstaking work to bring the criminal gang to justice.

Operation Ecru saw officers stop at nothing to gather evidence, including recording prison visit conversations, keeping gang members including Conroy under surveillance, and examining GPS data on their phones to place them at or near the scenes of crimes.

They also followed Conroy as he drove a stolen Transit van out of the area and dumped it, with two sawn-off double barrelled shotguns in a hold-all inside, as he became increasingly paranoid that he would be caught.

Raids were carried out at a number of addresses and drugs, encrypted phones and weapons were found, with DNA evidence lifted from them.

After the case, DI Sarah Robinson, of Cleveland Police, said: “Operation Ecru was a long-running and complex covert investigation into a number of individuals. 

“This group were involved in the supply of drugs and the court heard how they attempted to intimidate others using firearms and high-powered vehicles, modified to ram buildings and cars.

“A key incident in this case was the firing of a shotgun in a residential street. This behaviour was wholly reckless and caused fear and distress within that community. The verdict sends a clear message to those who think that they can operate outside the law. We will use all the tools available to us to disrupt organised crime and bring those involved to justice.”