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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Drug smugglers jailed for 24 years Sean O Neill Friday 17 Dec 1999 The eight members of a drugs ring who smuggled millions of pounds worth of cannabis and amphetamines into the UK have been jailed for a total of 24 years. The gang, including ex-paratroopers, were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court after being convicted of bringing drugs worth £6.8m through the port at Dover and into Wales and Scotland. They used a second-hand car dealership at Cwmbran in south Wales as cover for their operation. Three former soldiers of the Third Parachute Regiment recruited couriers for drug-running missions bringing drugs from France and Spain. But the gang was smashed when police discovered a military-style list of instructions from one gang member to another. A court heard how detectives brought in army experts to decode the instructions. Prosecutor Neil Bidder QC told Cardiff Crown Court: "Former paratrooper Steven Bloodworth was the main organiser who arranged for couriers to distribute the drugs. "The wholesale value of the drugs was £522,000 and the street value was £6,893,000." Lance-corporal Bloodworth, 29, led the gang along with Para colleagues Privates Robert Groundwater, 32, and John Davidson, 32. Police cracked the ring after discovering the list of instructions from ex-para Steven Bloodworth to his brother John, also a former soldier. Defending, Stephen Hopkins said Bloodworth had served his country well. Greg Hoare, defending Groundwater, said: "He was a trusted and valued member of the Third Battalion. Having left the security of army life he found it difficult on the outside. He was proud of his achievements and his army career. He feels he has let himself and his family down badly." Judge William Gaskell jailed Stephen Bloodworth, of Elwood Path, Cwmbran, for six years for conspiracy to supply drugs. "You were the manager and at the centre of the web," he said. "The military connection relates to the fact that you were stationed in Dover and contacted former army colleagues to make up the conspiracy." Davidson, of Odo Road, Dover, was jailed for two years after being found guilty of conspiracy. Groundwater, of Douglas Road, Dover, was given a three-year sentence after admitting conspiracy. John Bloodworth, also of Cwmbran, was jailed for five years after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy. Two other Bloodworth brothers - Malcolm, 37, of Thornhill, Cwmbran, and Michael, 33, of Fairwater, Cwmbran - admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis. Malcolm was jailed for three and a half years and Michael for 12 months. Other members of the gang James Melrose, 40, of Pinewood Road, Dalkeith, near Edinburgh, and Mark Jones, 34, of Bedwas Road, Caerphilly, both admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis and jailed for two years each. A police team of 12 officers - codenamed Operation Firm - worked for a year to crack the drugs ring. After the case, Detective Constable Neil Reed said: "The three paratroopers ran the operation like a military one. "They were cool and well organised and we are delighted to have smashed a ring of this type.
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