Man in crime group jailed for two decades
He was a leading figure in a crime group which ran a multi-million-pound operation supplying cocaine across the Southwest
A leading figure in an organised crime group which ran a multi-million-pound operation supplying cocaine across the Southwest has been jailed.
Following a retrial at Winchester Crown Court, Darren Newlands, 44, of Newman Road, Devizes, was found guilty of conspiring to supply dozens of kilos of cocaine from 2016 to 2020 on Thursday (23 October).
He had previously been found guilty in January of a second count of conspiring to supply cocaine from August to November 2020, but reporting restrictions due to the retrial prevented him from being identified.
Yesterday (24 October), Newlands was jailed for 20 years.
The sentence is the conclusion of an extensive Wiltshire Police Serious Organised Crime Unit investigation into a sophisticated network which shipped more than 70kg of cocaine – worth £5.6m to £7m – across the Southwest.
Eight people were jailed in January 2025 for their roles in it, including brothers Warren and Kelroy Allison, who were jailed for 23 years and 16.5 years respectively.
Newlands, a well-known local business owner, played a leading role in the operation, using his business to give the Allison brothers an outward veneer of legitimacy.
Newlands “employed” ringleader Warren Allison, paying him a monthly salary in return for significant quantities of cash and third party bank transfers, which were conducted to disguise the relationship between them.
This gave them an excuse for regular contact and meetings at the workplace and an explanation for the movement of funds between them.
It was this movement of funds and the payment of a salary that allowed Warren Allison to present a legitimate income, enabling property and vehicle purchases, including a Lamborghini Huracan, and Audi RS6.
Evidence obtained on the phones of the Allison brothers and Porcia Densley showed that Newlands had on several occasions purchased at least five kilograms of cocaine at a time from the Allison brothers, which he then sold onwards to other drug suppliers.
Thanks to local intelligence, the Wiltshire Police Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) commenced an investigation into the group in 2020.
Covert policing tactics and the forensic analysis of thousands of documents, financial reports and phone data demonstrated the scale of the operation and the individuals involved.
Further support was provided by the National Crime Agency, assisting in accessing the highly encrypted SKY ECC communication devices, revealing the level of disruption and panic that had been caused by the shutdown of the EncroChat network by French law enforcement in June 2020.
Charges were subsequently brought against those involved. Following Newlands sentencing yesterday, officers will work under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover the money involved, which could be in excess of £3m.
Investigating officer DC Matthew Harvey of SOCU said: “This lengthy sentence for Darren Newlands reflects the level of criminality in which he had involved himself over a period of several years.
“Mr Newlands was already an established figure in Wiltshire’s cocaine supply by 2016, having commenced Warren Allison’s sham employment in November 2015 as a “Business Development Manager” at Wiltshire Tyres.
“There is no evidence that Warren Allison completed any work for the company, and the salary payments and business contract were nothing more than a façade to conceal the criminal activities of Mr Newlands and Mr Allison.
“Tick lists in the name of “Darren/Daz and Dazza” were identified by the case team, and after a painstaking analysis of the extensive phone reports, financial material, and lengthy call data records, patterns could be established to identify that Darren Newlands was the “Daz/Dazza” referred to.
“Unfortunately for those involved, Kelroy Allison kept extensive records of the drugs supplied in coded tick lists and cash ledgers, indicating the vast sums of cash involved, totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time – a large quantity of which had come from Mr Newlands.
“This relationship developed between the Allison brothers and Mr Newlands over time, until it was evidenced that he had established his own suppliers, an Albanian Organised Crime Group based in London, fronted by Ledian Hoxha.
“Mr Newlands began paying Mr Hoxha through company accounts, and created another false employment contract, identical to that of Mr Allison’s, with a suggestion that Mr Hoxha was a second “Business Development Manager.
“Mr Newlands took receipt of a highly Encrypted mobile device made by SKY ECC. This allowed Mr Newlands to communicate with his Albanian suppliers throughout October and November of 2020 securely.
“This case culminated in surveillance of Mr Newlands on the 3rd of November 2020, where he met with Ledian Hoxha at his Thatcham branch.
“There, they brokered the deal to supply four kilograms of cocaine later that day to Bristol, where it would be received by Anthony Burke.
“Mr Newlands and Warren Allison acted together, with Newlands managing the upstream suppliers, and Allison the customer base, resulting in the successful delivery of the drugs by a courier a few hours later.
“Unfortunately for this group, the Police watched both the meeting with Hoxha and this delivery take place, and arrests swiftly followed.
“Mr Newlands and others were arrested, and two SKY ECC devices were recovered, and later analysed, demonstrating that Mr Newlands had been the driving force behind the exchange.
“Mr Newlands stood to make significant financial gains from this arrangement with 10 to 20 kilograms a week being discussed by his Albanian suppliers, were it not for the disruption caused by the arrests and seizure of the cocaine.
“These convictions should highlight to individuals involved in drug supply, or looking to establish criminal groups of this type that law enforcement can and will pursue those taking part, despite their attempts to avoid detection.
“This case commenced with community intelligence, and the results are plain to see, so I urge the public to come forward with any information and intelligence regarding this sort of activity.”