WINNING THE DRUG WAR

A Gang Of Drugs Dealers Face Prison After Being Snared By Undercover Police
Officers.

Officers recovered ecstasy and cocaine worth thousands of pounds
through Operation Cornwall which targeted the commercial supply of
Class A drugs in Cramlington, Northumberland.

Six undercover officers, three men and three women, were involved in
the investigation between May and September. The operation centred on
the supply of drugs in pubs in the area.

Thirteen people were arrested and 10 are due to be sentenced on Monday
after pleading guilty to drugs-related offences.

They include Daniel Herberson, 18, of Village Road, Cramlington, who
was convicted of four charges of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs
and Christopher Wilson, 31, St Cuthbert's Drive, Gateshead, for
supplying Class A drugs and possession with intent to supply.

Those who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs were
Peter Regan, 23, Lanercost Park, Cramlington, Gareth Savage, 19,
Alston Avenue, Cramlington, Philip Tye, 23, Alston Avenue,
Cramlington, Craig Shields, 19, Cambo Drive, Cramlington, Christopher
Simpson, 21, East View Terrace, Dudley, and a 17-year-old Cramlington
youth.

Mark Errington, 19, of Tangmere Close, Cramlington, and another
17-year-old Cramlington youth admitted supplying Class A drugs.

At Newcastle Crown Court yesterday, prosecutor Glenn Gatland said
there were four groups of offences involving the defendants and
Herberson was the common factor in all. He was a glass collector at a
pub and officers were introduced to drug suppliers through him.

Mr Gatland added: "He was dealing and brokering deals but the Crown
does not say he was the leader in this operation. Herberson was
working for Simpson, Regan and possibly Wilson who was an active drug
dealer in the Cramlington and Gateshead area.

"Savage, Shields and Tye were working at the direction of Regan who
was running his operation from his home."

The court heard that Herberson had put officers in touch with Regan to
buy cocaine. On one occasion they were supplied the drug by Regan in a
car, with Shields in the driver's seat.

On other occasions, Regan was seen in his flat cutting up substances
and weighing them. At other times Savage and Tye were present when
cocaine was supplied to police.

During separate incidents Herberson introduced officers to a youth to
buy Ecstasy. The youth and another 17-year-old were present at the
exchange of 40 tablets bought for UKP 100. During another sale of
Ecstasy pills, Errington was present.

Herberson also introduced police to Simpson and Wilson to supply them
with cocaine. Officers travelled to Gateshead to meet Wilson and buy
the drug.

In mitigation, Tom Finch said Regan had been carrying out the
activities after being put under pressure from people above him.

He added: "He is very much a middle man and is being instructed by
others to supply drugs. He received no payment for the work he was
doing on behalf of others.

"He is not a hardened criminal. He himself to some extent has been a
victim to his addiction and to those far more sophisticated than him."

In February 2004, Regan was given a nine-month prison sentence,
suspended for two years following convictions of supplying Ecstasy and
producing cannabis.

Representing Herberson, Robert Adams said: "He was the first point of
contact as far as police were concerned and had knowledge of what was
going on

"Perhaps through naivety on his part, he said too much to the extent
he assisted undercover officers who were seeking supply of drugs. He
is effectively right at the bottom of the ladder.

"He was a regular cocaine user himself. He started sadly at the age of
13 and by 17 he was unable to fund his own habit. He had six GCSEs
when he left school and started working and attended college."

On behalf of Savage, Jamie Adams said: "His family have been through
hell and back again because of their son. From a very early age he
became a user of cannabis. They have been trying their best to help
him. He went to Escape, a drugs help agency.

"Since September, he has been free of drugs and is looking to the
future. He has mended his life.

"He was very much involved on the periphery of this case. He was
sitting in two separate cars with two different people and physically
handed over drugs that someone else had organised to be dealt to the
officers. He's not dealing in a commercial sense at all himself, apart
from physically handing them over on those two occasions."

Representing Tye, Gavin Doig said: "He was doing it as a favour for a
person he thought a friend, for no reward save for some cigarettes. He
has been fully employed since 2000 and works hard."

Barry Robson, for Shields, said: "He gives the impression of being
naive and reckless. As his other friends, he had moved into this on an
ad-hoc basis without thinking about the consequences.

"He comes from a hardworking and very supportive family. He's a hard
working boy himself and has been employed since he left school.

"He has tried very hard to explain why he did this. With long-standing
friends, it apparently becomes easy to become involved in what's going
on."

Sentence against three others convicted of conspiracy to supply drugs
has been adjourned to February 24. They are David Fantozzi, 24, of
Evesham Place, Cramlington, Jody James Walsh, 29, of Glenluce Drive,
Cramlington, and Liam Parsons, 21, of West Farm Wynd, Longbenton.

We must be united in crime battle

A father whose son is facing a lengthy jail term for his role in a
drugs ring is urging the community not to turn a blind eye to the
deadly trade.

Alan Savage backed the police operation to tackle the supply of
class-A drugs in Cramlington, which led to 13 people, including Gareth
Savage, appearing at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday.

Today Mr Savage reveals how he was driven to despair after his son
started taking cannabis at the age of 15.

Mr Savage, of Alston Avenue, Cramlington, says no-one acted on his
concerns when he found out Gareth was using drugs.

He believes people living in the town need to do everything they can
to work with Northumbria Police to prevent the lives of more young
people being blighted by drugs.

He said: "Communities will express anger and disgust at our son's
dealing in misery, but few will be upright enough to search their own
consciences and confess they have done little personally to help stem
our communities' decline through alcohol and drug-fuelled anti-social
behaviour and crime.

"I have worked tirelessly throughout south east Northumberland
volunteering to address social problems for more than two decades and
I can count on one hand the number of people who speak to me.

"Communities do not want to understand the truth behind the reasons
young people turn to crime or why parents sometimes can't cope.

"Instead, neighbours simply want to immerse themselves in the wave of
hysteria that surrounds crime, but reality is inescapable. Everyone in
society has a role to play in addressing social problems."

Drugs were thought to be a factor in disorder in and around pubs and
the Brockwell shopping centre in Cramlington, which was the scene of
the force's first-ever dispersal order last year.

During the investigation that led to the 13 arrests, police, under
Chief Constable Mike Craik's `total policing initiative' worked
closely with Northumberland Drug Action Team to guide the individuals
affected towards drugs treatment agencies.

A police spokesman said that during the operation links with the DAT
and Blyth Valley Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership led to
community wardens and youth workers becoming involved with local people.

Mr Savage says his family were failed by the system and the wider
community at the time they first realised their son had a problem.

He added: "I acknowledge and take full responsibility for personally
failing our son at the age of 15 as he first began taking cannabis at
school.

"I failed him because like so many other parents in identical
situations I attempted to take on a whole host of other organisations
and individuals."