Three jailed for role in Dinnington drug ring
Daniel Winfrow (31), Fatjon Xhana (30) and Rezart Qose (35) were all sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, December 22.
Winfrow, of Cramfit Crescent in Dinnington, was jailed for eight years for conspiracy to supply cocaine, which he admitted in July 2016.
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Hide AdHe was also jailed for six months for possessing cannabis, to run concurrently.
Xhana, of no fixed address but formerly from Sussex, was jailed for 14 years for conspiring to supply Class A drugs.
Qose, of Arnold Gardens, London, received a six-year jail term for the same offence.
Xhana and Qose were both found guilty of conspiracy after a trial in July 2016.
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Hide AdA fourth man - Karl Lobue, formerly from Dinnington - admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in July 2016 and was jailed for eight years.
Police began investigating the group in February 2015, as part of a joint inquiry with the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit into the supply of cocaine in Dinnington and West Yorkshire.
On June 12, 2015, Qose travelled to Dinnington from London and was seen to swap bags with Winfrow - exchanging 1kg of cocaine for £37,000 cash.
Officers established that Lobue had arranged the drug deal in conjunction with Winfrow.
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Hide AdFive days later, Winfrow was seen to meet two men in a vehicle just off junction 31 of the M1, near Aston. Police followed them to an industrial estate, where Winfrow took possession of 1kg of cocaine.
The drugs were later found in a caravan at the home address of his relative.
Xhana had organised the drug deal with Winfrow and West Yorkshire Police also found 3kg of cocaine at a Bradford address associated with him.
Det Insp Graham Bulmer of South Yorkshire Police said: “This has been a lengthy and extensive investigation into a sophisticated, large scale operation to supply controlled drugs into the Yorkshire area.
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Hide Ad“Working alongside West Yorkshire Police and the Regional Organised Crime Unit, we were able to identify this group as being responsible for arranging to courier a significant amount of cocaine into the Dinnington and wider Yorkshire area in exchange for money.
“By working with other forces we were able to show the true extent of this organised crime group’s criminality who were all involved in the wholesale supply of cocaine of import purity.”
He added: “As a result of this inquiry, a large amount of cocaine and cash was taken off the streets and I’m pleased that those responsible are now in prison. Hopefully their custodial sentences will act as a deterrent to those engaged in this form of criminality.
“We will continue our investigation to identify how much they have benefited financially from their crime and seek to confiscate their assets.
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Hide Ad“Sometimes these complex investigations can take years before we can share the good news with the public.
“Rest assured though, we do everything we can to identify these people and bring them before the courts for prosecution.”
Three more men were charged in connection with the investigation, but were found not guilty.