Gang's music videos helped police crack drugs operation

12 ‘COUNTY LINES’ DEALERS ARE JAILED FOR A COMBINED TOTAL OF 130 YEARS

- By GEORGE PALMER-SOADY

MUSIC videos featuring Lamborghinis, Rolex watches and bottles of Bollinger champagne helped crack a high-scale drugs operation across the East Midlands and put the individuals responsible behind bars.

A total of 12 offenders were sentenced to a combined total of 130 years in prison on Tuesday for their involvement in a “county lines” operation, which included 13 areas across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. A further drugs line connected with the gang was found to be active as far away as Aberdeen in Scotland.

Following a string of arrests that were previously thought to be unconnected, police officers pieced together various strands of information. This included a number of music videos in which gang members posed with luxury items and boasted about how much money they were earning from the illegal drug trade.

Gang members sold heroin and cocaine using bulk phone messaging and sophisticated marketing techniques.

The gang had more than 1,400 customers, with more than 30,000 marketing messages sent out.