Two men from Wiltshire have been sentenced following a ‘major investigation’ into the supply of controlled drugs in the South West of England.
The three-year investigation, known as Operation Decode, was led by Avon and Somerset Police in partnership with Wiltshire Police and Devon and Cornwall Police.
During a day of action on 16 March last year, warrants were executed across the region – leading to seven suspects being charged with various offences relating to drug possession and supply.
All seven men pleaded guilty to various drug-related offences at Bristol Crown Court on 31 March.
Kalvir Singh, 42, of Chippenham, admitted selling large amounts of prescription medication and steroids.
He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, for three charges relating to possession and supply of class B and C drugs and two counts of possession of criminal property. He was additionally ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
Oliver Duxbury, 35, of Trowbridge, was found to have purchased cocaine on multiple occasions and was sentenced to 30 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months, plus 150 hours unpaid work.
During the course of the investigation, around £60,000 in cash and significant quantities of drugs were seized by police, including £94,000 of steroids and prescription medications from locations in south Bristol and Chippenham.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Dewfall of the Avon and Somerset Complex Crime Unit said: “We are committed to tackling the organised supply of illegal drugs and protecting the most vulnerable people in our communities from harm.
“I’d like to thank all involved in this complex investigation, which has been ongoing since 2019 and has today resulted in six individuals being brought to justice.
“The combined value of cash and drugs officers recovered as part of Operation Decode provides some insight into the scale of organised crime we’ve been able to disrupt.
“I hope today’s outcome will encourage more members of the public tell us what they know about suspected drug related activity in their community. Each individual report allows us to build an intelligence picture and take positive action where we have evidence to suggest drug crime is taking place.”
Other men – not from Wiltshire – were convicted of various crimes:
Sebastian Dymond, 38, of Ashton, Bristol, was charged with six offences relating to possession and supply of class A, B and C drugs after a police investigation found that he was the principle figure in an organised crime group responsible for distributing multiple kilos of cocaine and cannabis across the region. He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
Police enquires established that Dymond had a number of customers across the region, including Grant McEvansoneya, 31, of Barnstaple, who had purchased significant quantities of cocaine and cannabis for onward sale in the North Devon area. He was jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.
Daniel Parsons, 39, of Hartcliffe was charged with conspiring to supply class A drugs after investigators found evidence that he had also supplied cocaine to McEvansoneya. He received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, plus unpaid work totalling 150 hours.
Maksymillian Zurek, 33, of Lawrence Weston, who was jailed for six years and six months after pleading guilty to four charges which included possession of and conspiracy to supply class A and B Drugs, and possessing a prohibited weapon.
A seventh man was given an 18-month conditional discharge after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis.
