Last member of 'county lines' drugs gang who flooded Plymouth and Gosport with heroin and crack cocaine from Liverpool is jailed

A "MANAGER" in a county lines drugs gang that peddled crack cocaine and heroin between Liverpool into Gosport and Plymouth has been jailed for six years and nine months.

Danny Venning, 39, (pictured above) of Beatrice Avenue, Lipson, Plymouth, was jailed when he appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court, as the last member of the gang to be sentenced after the group was dismantled following an investigation by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Northern Area Serious & Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) with the support of Merseyside Police and Devon and Cornwall Police.

Judge Daniel Sawyer said Venning was a "trusted manager" of the gang who was "at the heart of the Plymouth" operation.

He was involved in multiple trips to Liverpool and the operation only stopped as a result of his arrest, which he had resisted.

Judge Sawyer said: "The defendant had the drugs "phone line" on him when he was arrested and was in possession of multi kilos of drugs. He was very trusted and was in contact with three unknown Plymouth contacts."

Police found amounts of heroin and crack cocaine at the property upon his arrest.

Over the course of the investigation into the entire network, 4kg of drugs and more than £30,000 in

cash were physically seized by police, along with a number of weapons.

Between 1 January 2022 and 28 March 2023, the network sold at least 25kg of crack cocaine and heroin in Gosport, and approximately 9.6kg of crack and heroin in Plymouth.

By targeting suppliers operating in Gosport, police were able to work their way up the chain of command to identify couriers, operational managers and ultimately two heads of the Organised Crime Group (OCG) – brothers Anthony and Brian Siner (below bottom).

Anthony (above top) oversaw the Siner OCG, running heroin and crack cocaine through Gosport, while Brian controlled the line operating in Plymouth, Devon, where Venning was a manager, from his prison cell where he was coming to the end of a 14 year sentence for previous drugs supply offences in Liverpool.

The County Line – which marketed itself as a brand known as the ‘Scouse Dave’ line – had been embedded in Gosport for a number of years, with local police officers conducting regular disruption and intervention work to target distributors and remove drugs from the supply chain.

As a result of this work, the Constabulary identified a ‘Scouse Presence’ in Gosport – namely operational members of the Siner OCG making sure dealing went ahead and that the Scouse Dave presence was felt effectively in the area. These OCG members also took cash back to Liverpool when they returned to the city.

The whole operation ran like a business – people worked and were paid a wage, before going home to see their families.

Police were able to establish that couriers working for the OCG would either bring drugs down to Gosport and Plymouth in bulk, or conduct cash collection trips whereby proceeds of drugs sales were collected from gang members and then transported back up to Liverpool.

During one such trip on 15 November 2022, a vehicle driven by 41-year-old Gareth Roberts was stopped by police near Plymouth. A search of the vehicle resulted in officers seizing around 3kg of heroin and crack cocaine.

As the investigation continued, police discovered phone contact between Anthony Siner and his older brother Brian, who was determined to be overseeing the Plymouth Line utilising Venning, a dealer in the area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Yk65hG5mU

The work then continued to identify other local runners and conspirators operating in Hampshire to deal or store drugs, and handle cash.

Following a number of arrests, the investigation team noticed a pause in activity on the drugs line, and took an opportunity to send out a text message en masse to drug users who had been in contact with the line, notifying them that it had been intercepted by police and signposting them to support services for their drug addiction.

A few months later, in July 2023, Merseyside Police supported the Constabulary with a day of action conducting further warrants and arrests. As part of this, both Siner brothers were arrested again before being charged and remanded to prison for their involvement in the conspiracy.

A total of 17 conspirators were brought into the criminal justice system, pleading guilty to their involvement in the conspiracy, and 16 have been sentenced so far to more than 85 years in prison.

Earlier this year, on Friday 31 January this year, the following four individuals were sentenced:

Anthony Siner, aged 38, of Monterey Road, Liverpool pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for 17 years and 7 months.

Brian Siner, aged 42, of Clint Way, Liverpool pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for 15 years and 9 months.

Gareth Roberts, aged 43, (above) of York Road in Southend-on-Sea, Essex – pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for 6 years and 9 months.

Roberts acted as a courier for the operation, collecting cash and delivering drugs to Gosport and Plymouth.

Lee Illingworth, aged 40, (below) of no fixed abode, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, having already spent 13 months in prison awaiting sentence. He was also ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Seven other OCG members, detailed below, were sentenced over the course of 20 and 21 March:

Adam Hughes, aged 38, of Speedwell Lane in Heathfield, East Sussex, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was jailed for 8 and a half years. Hughes was an operational manager who had a significant role in the conspiracy.

Gary Cranney, aged 41, of Eldonian Way in Liverpool, who has pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was jailed for 7 years. Cranney was also an operational manager working under the Siners.

Demi Hannon, aged 27, of Gorst Street, Liverpool, who has pleaded guilty to participation in the criminal activities of an Organised Crime Group, was given a two year Community Order, comprising 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and 150 hours unpaid work.

Lee Richardson aged 28, of Blackhorse Lane, Liverpool, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs was jailed for 9 years.

Max Pike, aged 29, of Little Chilworth, Gosport, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was jailed for five years and 7 months.

Clayton Donnelly, aged 22, of Sunbeam Way, Gosport, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was jailed for 4 and a half years.

Donna Yuen, aged 48, of Davenport Close, Gosport, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs was handed a 22 month sentence, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to complete 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Days, and 60 hours unpaid work.

On Friday 24 April, the following three men were sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court:

Paul Naughton, aged 30, of no fixed abode, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was jailed for six years.

Brett Coe-Quainton, aged 26, of Gale Moor Avenue in Gosport, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was jailed for five years.

Kevin Wealthal, aged 57, of Little Chilworth in Gosport, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was sentenced to two years, suspended for two years, and was also made subject to a tagged curfew.

Christopher Crewe, aged 39, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 2 May. Crewe, of no fixed abode, was handed a 12 month Community Order, comprising a 6 month Drug Rehabilitation Requirement, and 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.

Sean Harland, aged 43, of Miller Drive, Fareham, who pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, was sentenced on Friday 10 October. He was handed an 18 month sentence, suspended for two years.

Chief Inspector Marcus Kennedy, District Commander for Fareham and Gosport, said in March: “County Lines gangs have been embedded in Hampshire for some time, and to put it simply they are not welcome at all. People who live in Gosport are very passionate about their town, and when an organised crime group moves in it impacts all of the community.

“These gangs are linked to violence, including use of weapons, as well as wider community issues such as anti-social behaviour and acquisitive crime. These are not people you want operating in your area.

“They prey on the vulnerable, but sometimes drug runners can be vulnerable themselves and forced into this world, particularly if they are young or have been exposed to violence from a young age.

“The work into the Siner OCG has been phenomenal, and has taken out key members of the gang at all levels, including those with senior oversight. They’ve been cleared out, but there’s still more to do to continue stamping out drugs gangs.

“The police don’t want them here, and the community don’t want them here – not in our town. So my plea to the public will always be to tell us what’s going on in your towns to help us eradicate these groups. No matter how small the piece of information is, please work with us so we can develop the intelligence picture, take action, and make your community a safer place to live.

“This work wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our colleagues in Merseyside Police and Devon & Cornwall Police, in addition to the Crown Prosecution Service who presented the case to the courts. Police and partners will continue to work together in this way to disrupt those who infiltrate and bring harm to our towns and cities.”

Detective Sergeant Peter Sloan, from Merseyside Police, said: “Drug dealing destroys lives and contributes to the cycle of crime and exploitation. In Merseyside, we are doing all we can to stop drug activity and make it a hostile environment for organised crime groups.

“This was a complex investigation but thanks to the work of Hampshire Police, Devon & Cornwall and our dedicated county lines team, Project Medusa, we have been able to secure significant sentences.

"The investigation showcases the success of working together with other forces to close County Lines and put organised criminals behind bars.”