We’ve shut down a County Line that was pushing heroin and crack cocaine into a historic tourist town – and the people behind the drugs chain have now been jailed for 37 years.
Giovanni Cooper-Clarke (left) and Kyden Williams-Parchment ran the Birmingham-based Rico Line which had established a “significant foothold” in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Detectives infiltrated the line and gathered evidence of marketing messages sent out from the line to customers offering Class A drugs for sale.
In keeping with the classic County Lines ‘business model’, Cooper-Clarke and Williams-Parchment distanced themselves from the dealing by employing others to do their dirty work on the streets of Stratford.
Associate Karim Halls travelled to and from the tourist town to coordinate sales of drugs, deliver and to collect cash.
We identified Joshua Bartle (left), Rickey Cooper (middle) and Greg Cox (right) as being part of the Rico Line – fulfilling drugs orders – while Donna Hurford allowed her Stratford flat to be used as a drugs den and local supply base.
Officers executed raids at the home addresses of gang members in late 2020 and seized phones, documents and drugs paraphernalia.
We provided the courts with a compelling package of evidence and estimated the line would have made anywhere between £60,000 to £140,000 in just over two years.
It led to five of the group pleading guilty to conspiring to supply drugs between November 2018 and January 2021, while Cox and Hurford (below left) were found guilty following a trial in May this year.
Yesterday (20 Dec) Cooper-Clarke, aged 25 from Leatherhead Close, Aston and 24-year-old Williams-Parchment from Spring Meadow Grove in Birmingham were jailed for nine years each.
Bartle (34) from Elm Road, was sentenced to 27 months, while Cooper (44) and Hurford (47) both from Masons Road, were sentenced to 28 months and seven years respectively. Cox (48) from Scarrots Street was sentenced to 28 months. All from Stratford-upon-Avon.
Halls (right), aged 21 of no fixed address, was sentenced to five years and one month.
Detective Inspector Julie Woods from West Midlands ROCU said: “This was a well-oiled County Line that had established a significant foothold in the drugs supply market in Stratford-upon-Avon.
“Cooper-Clarke and Williams-Parchment managed the line and ran the operation; the others knew their roles and conducted the drug deals on their behalf.
“County Lines is a cynical business model that sees people at the top of the tree exploiting vulnerable people, often children, to peddle drugs. They are exposed to all the risk, including attacks from rival gangs, while they count the cash.
“We’ve recently expanded our capacity to tackle County Lines gangs that bring misery to our communities and we will continue targeting offenders.”