Last Updated: 3 minutes ago
A drugs enterprise run from a garden centre saw its members make near-daily deliveries of cocaine and cannabis across south Wales and into England, a court has heard.
The operation
Danny Tomlin, 40, led an organised crime group (OCG) based at Kitts Green Nursery in Gloucestershire – a premises owned by his mother-in-law. The group’s activity stretched from Newport to Swansea, with members making frequent trips to deliver drugs and oversee cannabis factories.
Cardiff Crown Court heard on Tuesday how the network operated cannabis grows at two sites – one in Pontllanfraith, near Blackwood, and another in Trebanog, near Porth. When police eventually raided both factories, they found almost 400 plants with a combined potential yield of between 10kg and 31kg.
The group’s movements
Louis Maxwell, 39, a close associate of Tomlin, was involved in supplying both cocaine and cannabis. He made trips to the nursery before travelling on to locations including Bridgwater, Swansea, Caldicot, Abertillery and Dowlais – sometimes driven by Ashley Coughlan, 42.
On March 6, Maxwell was stopped on the M4 near Caldicot. Officers found two boxes in his vehicle, each containing half a kilogram of cocaine, along with a separate parcel holding a kilogram of cannabis.
Christopher Preston, 68, played a key role as a regular courier, collecting from the Gloucestershire nursery and making drops across a wide area including Dowlais, Swansea, Abertillery, Blackwood, Newport and Caldicot. When police searched his home on June 18, they found herbal cannabis and notebooks containing tick lists.
Ryan Battersby, 36, also made collection trips to the nursery and deliveries to Swansea, as well as meeting Preston in Newport.
Arrests and evidence
On June 5, Bradley Williams, 38, met Preston in Abertillery and was seen carrying a laundry bag into a lane, where he placed it between two bins. He was arrested at the rear of the lane.
Jack Griffin, 21, was linked to the conspiracy after Preston drove to his Newport address to collect a laundry bag containing drugs. Kory Preece, 25, acted as a significant cannabis distributor, with group members seen making deliveries to his Caldicot address.
David Gorman, 41, was seen attending the nursery and travelling with Tomlin to Newport and Swansea. When his home was raided, police recovered 1.8kg of cocaine from his bedroom.
Listening device
From mid-June, police had a listening device fitted in Tomlin’s vehicle. They heard him discussing the police raid on the Pontllanfraith cannabis factory, the arrests of Williams and Maxwell, someone in Swansea who owed him a “large bill”, plans to grow more cannabis, and debts owed to him.
Sentencing
The defendants were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court as follows:
Danny Tomlin, of Valley Road, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis and conspiracy to produce cannabis. He has a previous conviction for conspiracy to supply cocaine, for which he received eight years. He was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.
Louis Maxwell, of HMP Parc, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. He has 20 previous convictions, including conspiracy to supply cocaine, for which he received 32 months. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.
Ashley Coughlan, of Caerleon Road, Newport, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine. He has no previous convictions. He was sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment.
Ryan Battersby, of Buttermere Way, Newport, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. He has previous convictions for conspiracy to murder, possession with intent to supply cannabis, battery and harassment. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.
Christopher Preston, of Lawnside, Forest Green, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. He has no relevant previous convictions. He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Bradley Williams, of Higher Meadow, Llanrhidian, Swansea, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. He has previous convictions including conspiracy to supply cocaine, for which he received six years. He was sentenced to five years and nine months’ imprisonment.
David Gorman, of Manor Lane, Charfield, South Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. He has one unrelated conviction. He was sentenced to four years and four months’ imprisonment.
Kory Preece, of Mabey Drive, Chepstow, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cannabis. He has no previous convictions. He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 180 hours of unpaid work.
Jack Griffin, of Westfield Way, Newport, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. He has no previous convictions. He was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, resulting in his release from custody.
