Four members of a notorious drugs gang which operated out of Newtown, Reading have been jailed for a total of 33 years for dealing cannabis.
Police used a variety of techniques to bring the gang to justice, including the use of SmartWater transferable markers. The ‘Orts Road’ drug operation was run as an efficient business with rotas, shifts, opening hours and a management operation. During the trial the Court was told how the area was treated like a cannabis shop, with people travelling from as far afield as Wales to buy £20 packets of the drug, contributing to a business worth around £2million a year.
Paul Jump, Warren Parkes, Nicholas Walker and Paul Sterling were all found guilty of drug dealing, despite denying any involvement in the operation. During one of many covert operations which helped bring the men to justice, Police fed banknotes into the gang that were marked with SmartWater transferable marker. During a Police raid the SmartWater marked notes were identified and used as prosecution evidence during the Court case, along with items of clothing, wallets and mobile phones that all demonstrated yellow fluorescence.
Superintendent Stuart Greenfield from Thames Valley Police said: “If you look at the terms they’ve been given, they reflect the impact they had on the community. We’re talking about organised crime on a grand scale, a multi-million pound enterprise affecting people in Reading and beyond and causing untold misery to residents and businesses.”