Peterborough man jailed for more than nine years as drugs gang brought to justice

A Peterborough man has been jailed for more than nine years for his involvement in county lines drug dealing.

Trehmayne Clarke was part of a gang that peddled addictive class A drugs across Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Peterborough and Grantham, with connections to a number of ‘drug lines’ which were responsible for the distribution of around 5.9Kg of heroin and crack cocaine, with a potential street value of up to £549,000.

After a major investigation by Staffordshire Police, Clarke (26) from the Eastgate area of Peterborough, and seven other members of the gang have been locked up.

Investigation began in 2017

Staffordshire Police said the investigation began in March 2017, when Brian Asante started to supply drugs in Stafford. He was arrested with Imari James in Stafford town centre following reports of suspicious activity. They had been spotted on CCTV distributing drugs to customers in the town. Later forensic work then linked other dealer, Kurtis Perry, to these drugs.

A month later, having been released under investigation, Asante was arrested in Stafford again and found to have 60 deals of crack cocaine and a knife on him. Again, Perry was later linked to these drugs.

Then in September 2017, officers arrested Jaydeep Neta at an address in Stafford. Neta was found to be concealing drugs in his anus. He had also been cuckooing the home address of a vulnerable woman as part of his drug-related activity. He was later charged and remanded in custody for this offence.

The inquiries led detectives to link Neta to the so-called ‘Jay’ drugs line, the previous arrests of Asante and James, as well as identify a gang from the Pendeford area of Wolverhampton, was largely behind the operation.

Later that year, the investigation took officers to Grantham, where in November 2017 Reece Gordon and Brian Asante were arrested in a vehicle while in possession of large quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, a large knife and balaclavas. Reece Gordon could be forensically linked to these drugs. They were all released under investigation while our inquiries and evidence-gathering continued.

Around two weeks’ later, police raided another address in Stafford and arrested two men – one being Tanyadzwa Chingore - who had cuckooed the home address of a vulnerable man. Officers seized a large amount of cash and a mobile phone.

Police link gang to ‘Panda’ drugs line in Peterborough

At the end of December, in the Pendeford area, officers attempted to stop Reece Gordon, who made off in a car before abandoning it. A phone and a large knife were recovered from the vehicle. The phone showed a link between the so-called ‘Panda’ drugs line in Peterborough and Grantham, which was linked to Gordon.

In January 2018, Asante was arrested again, having been found in possession of cannabis and an incriminating mobile phone, while in early February, Kurtis Perry, Kieron Fletcher and later Reece Gordon, were targeted in Pendeford. They were all subsequently released under investigation.

In May the same year, officers arrested Trehmayne Clarke and Kurtis Perry in a joint operation. Clarke was later revealed to be operator of the ‘Tiny’ line while Perry could be shown to be involved in the supply of crack and heroin in Peterborough. Both Clarke and Perry were charged and remanded in custody over these offences.

‘I’m pleased that each offender has been handed a custodial sentence’

Sergeant Thomas Fotherby, of Stafford local policing team, who led the investigation, said: “This investigation has been a massive undertaking for myself and my colleagues.

“The investigation was protracted and complex and I’m pleased that each offender has been handed a custodial sentence for their role in supplying drugs in Staffordshire as well as further afield.

“I hope this case reiterates to the public how we continue to work to disrupt county lines drug dealing in our communities and that we are determined to bring offenders to justice.”

The names and sentences of the eight gang members

The eight gang members who have been sentenced are:

Brian Asante, 22, of Beaconside in Stafford - admitted conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine and was sentenced on 19 January to three years and six months in prison.

Imari James, 21, of Parkfields in Wolverhampton admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin and being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack. He was handed a six-year and eight-month sentence on 9

Kurtis Perry, 24, of Pendeford, Wolverhampton was sentenced on 19 January to a total of eight years imprisonment after admitting conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Jaydeep Neta, 24, of HMP Dovegate, Staffordshire, was sentenced on 1 February to eight years imprisonment after admitting being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and an additional matter not related to this case.

Reece Gordon, 27, of Rusholme in Manchester, found guilty of conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin. He was sentenced to nine years and six months behind bars on 9 January.

Tanyaradzwa Chingore, 22, of Pendeford, Wolverhampton, was found guilty of conspiring to supply crack cocaine and heroin. Sentenced to four years imprisonment on 9 January.

Trehmayne Clarke, 26, of the East Gate area of Peterborough was sentenced on 19 January to a total of nine years and seven months in prison after admitting conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Kieron Fletcher, 22, of Pendeford, was sentenced on 7 February 2023 to three years two months prison after admitting conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Three further defendants are due to be sentenced at a later date.