A 33-YEAR-OLD man from Ripley has been sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for his part in a multi-million-pound drugs gang.
Ben Mullens, of Church Street, Ripley, was sent down for 18 years and eight months after he admitted conspiring to produce amphetamine, conspiring to supply amphetamine and conspiring to supply cocaine.
His was the longest sentence of the 12-strong gang, which included another Derbyshire man, Andrew Brimble, of Staffa Drive, Tibshelf, who was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply amphetamine.
The gang's activities began to unravel in July 2013 when a car was stopped on the A1 near Doncaster and was found to contain 10kg of amphetamine, worth an estimated £227,000.
This bust led police to the Protein Masters store in King Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, where the officers found 7kg of a substance which contained amphetamine in buckets, drains and toilets within the property.
Two men were arrested at the scene before Mullins and Protein Masters owner Anthony Donnelly, 31, of Southwell Road, Mansfield, who was described as the ringleader of the group, were arrested elsewhere in the Nottingham area. Donnelly was jailed for 12 years.
Three more associates were arrested in November 2013 in two separate incidents.
In the first, two men were found to be travelling in a car with 3kg of high-purity cocaine worth £600,000. And Bramble was found to be driving a car carrying £1.3 million worth of amphetamines weighing 67kg.
The East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) worked with forces across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Humberside, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to make further arrests.
The 12 men arrested were sentenced to more than 100 years in prison at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Mason, of EMSOU, said:"The East Midlands forces are determined to dismantle criminal groups which supply drugs and through EMSOU have been targeting organised crime for a number of years.
"This is the third case of its kind to be concluded at court this month and it is very satisfying to know that, in just a matter of a few days, more than 30 determined criminals from across the region who attempted to bring drugs into our communities have now been put behind bars."
