A Falmouth drugs kingpin faces 13 years in jail this week for his part in a conspiracy to smuggle almost a million pounds worth of narcotics into Cornwall.
Roy Ernest Jones, aged 33, pictured below, denied being “some kind of Mr Big” type figure at crown court on Friday but was described by Judge John Neligan as a “prolific organiser” who was “the centre” of the Falmouth drug smuggling ring.
The father-of-three from Porhan Green headed an eight-strong gang that included his half-brother Michael Dean Thom, aged 46, and 45-year-old Roy Wilks of Swanpool Road, both pictured below.
These three were identified by the police as “organisers” of the Falmouth drug syndicate, which used a network of couriers, growers and family connections to flood Cornwall with illegal substances.
The gang were under police surveillance for nine months as part of an investigation codenamed “Operation Ipanema,” the longest of its kind ever undertaken in the Duchy.
They operated in tandem with a similar gang based in Newquay, who would step in to fill the void if the police collared any of the Falmouth operatives or seized their supply of drugs.
Between September 2010 and June the following summer, cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis with a street value of £880,000 were seized by police along with nearly £100,000 in cash.
Jones’ defence lawyer Robert Linford described police assertions that his client was at the “top of a pyramid” as “Alice in Wonderland, fairytale stuff.”
“No one involved in this would have got involved if they had not wanted to,” he said.
“He’s not a Mr Big with a controlling influence.”
Despite these pleas, Jones was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on Friday for conspiring to supply cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines and transporting the profits of drug dealing.
For assisting in the production of cannabis and conspiring to supply cocaine and amphetamines Wilks was sentenced to five years.
Michael Dean Thom, of Porhan Green, was sentenced to five years for his part in the conspiracy, which included conspiring to supply cocaine.
Former merchant seaman 68-year-old Michael George Thom, pictured below, father of Michael Dean, received a two and half year sentence.
The 68-year-old, of Laburnum Close, was caught transporting nearly £7,000 of drugs profits in his car and had evidence of cocaine preparation in his home.
Couriers 22-year-old Jack Clark, of Marlborough Avenue, and 30-year-old Andrew Smith, of Barr Terrace, received four years and two and a half years respectively.
Helston-based cannabis cultivator William Mason, aged 50, was given a three and a half year stretch for his associations with the Falmouth group’s activities.
A further man, 33-year-old Jon Hughes of Westfield in Sussex and an old school friend of Jones received a six month sentence for conspiring to supply cannabis.
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