Couple who helped run drugs into Southampton jailed

Police uncovered more than £250,000 of cocaine and heroin

Author: Ryan BurrowsPublished 29th Nov 2024
Last updated 29th Nov 2024

A Southampton couple who ran large amounts of class A drugs into the city have each been jailed for five years.

Police found £250,000 worth of cocaine and heroin at a house on Old Redbridge Road in 2021.

Three double barrel sawn-off shotguns and three revolvers were also found inside the address.

Southampton Crown Court was told how 56-year-old Steven Forrest and 48-year-old Suezanne Forest, both of Cromer Road in Redbridge supported 34-year-old Max Craig Alexander, of no fixed abode, who was the orchestrator and facilitator of the supply of Class A drugs from Liverpool into Southampton during 2020 and 2021.

The investigation into Alexander and his co-defendants was run by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Western Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) as Operation Boheme.

This coincided with an international operation targeting criminals using a mobile encryption service, commonly referred to as EncroChat, to evade detection.

Steven and Suezanne had previously pleaded not guilty to conspiring to supply heroin and cocaine and conspiring to transfer criminal property.

In May, a jury found them guilty of these offences following a lengthy trial, which began several weeks earlier in March at Southampton Crown Court.

Alexander was sentenced to 15 years in prison in October, while Stuart Marcus Forrest, 24, of Lyburn Close in Southampton, was sentenced to 14 years for his part in the supply chain.

Southampton Chief Inspector Chris Douglas said:

"We are very pleased with the result of this investigation, which was incredibly complex and the result of years of hard work by the Western SOCU team.

"These four people, responsible for the supply of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of Class A drugs into Southampton, have been sentenced to a combined total of 39 years in prison and will now face the consequences of what they have done.

"Offenders who traffic and peddle drugs do not care about the harm they bring to our communities and or the lives that are destroyed by addiction.

"The supply of drugs is often connected to other offences such as high levels of violence, or even the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable adults and children, which is why we relentlessly pursue those involved.

"These sentences demonstrate very clearly that we will not tolerate the supply of drugs in Hampshire & on the Isle of Wight. If you are involved in activity like this, we will find you and bring you to justice."

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