Drugs gang jailed over cocaine and heroin plot

Five men were involved in the conspiracy to supply class A drugs and all admitted the offence at Sheffield Crown Court.

They were handed a total of 35-and-a-half years behind bars.

Earl Treasure (36), of Newton Place, Thorpe Hesley, was today jailed for ten years.

His co-defendants were:

Jamal Richards (27), of Wensley Street, Grimesthorpe, who was jailed for seven years.

Andrew Waterhouse (26), of Lime Tree Avenue, Hyde Park, Doncaster, who received six years.

Michael Gaskin (29), of Daneshill Road, Lound, Retford, received an eight-and-a-half-year sentence.

Adrian Powell (34), of Haysham Drive, Bradford, who was jailed for four years. 

Waterhouse was arrested in December 2014 for being in possession of two kilogrammes of heroin. 

When his house was searched, a further two kilogrammes of heroin were seized.

The police investigation revealed telephone contact between Waterhouse and Treasure.

There was also evidence that Gaskin was in contact with them both in the days prior to Waterhouse’s arrest. 

Richards was arrested in December 2014 in Sheffield after being observed leaving a property with a bag. 

Six kilogrammes of heroin were later seized.

Examination of Richards’ phone records showed contact between him, Gaskin and Treasure in the days prior to his arrest.

Treasure was placed under police observation after officers learned of his role in the earlier drugs transaction. 

In February 2015, in a country location, he was seen taking a package from Powell.

He was stopped and arrested by officers, who recovered one kilogram of cocaine and half a kilogram of heroin from his car. 

The total amount of cocaine and heroin recovered during the investigation was worth around £750,000. 

A further £68,000 cash was recovered from another address linked to Treasure.

Det Sgt Tony Slater, from South Yorkshire Police's serious and organised crime unit, said: “It became clear through our examination of phone records that this group had carefully orchestrated and planned the transport and supply of significant quantities of Class A drugs into our region.

“Drugs are responsible for so much devastation and increased criminality within our communities, so I am pleased that this group are off our streets and can do no further harm.”