'Magic Network' of Medway drug dealers jailed
Members of a major drugs ring that
supplied heroin and crack cocaine throughout the Medway towns were
locked up for a total of more than 13 years today (Friday).
The three men and and a 15-year-old boy were part of a
conspiracy which became well-known in the area as the Magic Network
and was even said to have its own "loyal" customer base.
Maidstone Crown Court heard that drug users were able to make
"regular and repeated" purchases from a "sure supply" of the class
A drugs.
A mobile telephone number was widely advertised to organise
deals. Despite numerous stop-checks and mobile phone seizures by
the police while under surveillance, the gang had the audacity to
"resurrect" the same number and continue trading, often within
hours of arrest.
Stashes of drugs were hidden in bushes and alleyways, while the
gang also operated from the homes of known addicts.
Over a 106-day period during the 148-day police investigation,
known as Operation Juggernaut, the same mobile phone number
received a staggering 18,514 calls or texts.
The court was told that a "rough and ready" street value for the
drugs supplied, based on 50 drug deals a day at £40 per deal, was
£296,000. The total supply of both drugs at 100 per cent purity
would have been 1.5kg.
At the centre of the conspiracy was 21-year-old Matthew Emuchay,
of Tyrrell Avenue, Welling, while 15-year-old Joseph Smith-Dance,
of Victoria Way, Charlton, was described as his chief
lieutenant.
The court heard he was often referred to in texts and calls to
Magic Network as "Little Man".
Charlie Elliott, 27, of Kingswood Road, Gillingham, was regarded
as a trusted worker, while Stephen Bates, 28, of Redland Shaw,
Rochester, was said to be a lower level worker.
All four admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs between
March 17 and August 11.
Emuchay was jailed for eight years, and Smith-Dance was ordered
to be locked up in a young offfenders' institution for two years
and eight months.
Elliott was jailed for two-and-a-half years, while Bates was
given 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years.
Judge Anthony Leonard QC said the gang's method of distribution
was "cynical and sophisticated" and they had played a major role in
the blighting of the Medway towns with the misuse of class A
drugs.
He described the figures as "quite astonishing", saying they
represented "big business and big profit."
Friday, December 04 2009