Saxilby man among Lincolnshire drug dealers jailed

Ten members of Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs) who were operating drugs networks worth hundreds of thousands of pounds across three counties have been sentenced to 58 years in prison between them.

The nine men and one woman were members of competing OCGs running County Lines operations in Lincoln city centre during 2020 and 2021.

Also sentenced on December 20, 2022, was Jonathan Hewitt, 36, of Bridge Street, Saxilby, who was arrested and charged two counts of supplying Class A drugs for his own line as part of the same operation.

He was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment. He was not part of the OCGs.

Superintendent Phil Baker from Lincolnshire Police, said: "Lincolnshire can be viewed as a soft target for unscrupulous gangs looking to extend their control.

"For anyone with this belief we have demonstrated that we will respond with resounding force to remove this scourge and fulfil our mandate to protect our communities.”

The ten-month operation was a Force-wide effort in partnership with the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), including PCs, intelligence officers, detectives, armed response officers, forensics units, police staff, investigators and analysts and the operation was provided with funding support from the National County Lines Coordination Centre.