County lines drugs gang jailed

THE HEAD of a county lines drug gang and two of his associates have been jailed for 25 years. 

Kane Griffiths-Jeffries, aged 22, ran the class A drugs operation from London and attempted to use two 17-year-old girls to flood the streets of Bridgend with crack cocaine and heroin.

Following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court, he was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and today (WED) was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Adam Harries, aged 37, of Bridgend, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was sentenced to 7 years and six months.

Local drug dealer Ian Wilkins, aged 42, of Bridgend, was convicted of two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and was jailed for seven years.Information from the community led officers to a house in Waunscil Avenue, Bridgend, in January of this year, following reports that people from London had taken over an address to facilitate the supply of drugs into the local community.

At this address, officers found two 17-year-old girls from London. One of the teenagers told officers that she had been promised the opportunity to earn up to £500 daily for supplying Class A drugs in Bridgend by someone called Rogue.

The address was searched and officers located wholesale amounts of Class A drugs; 90 wraps of crack cocaine and 24 wraps of heroin.

They also seized £1,260 in cash and a BB gun.

As part of the investigation, extensive phone work was carried out which led officers to London and to the head of the Rogue county line – Kane Griffiths-Jeffries. He was arrested in April of this year in Eastbourne.

A phone was seized at the address Griffiths-Jeffries was arrest – this was the Rogue line phone used to facilitate the supply of Class A drugs.

The court heard, Griffiths-Jeffries was the head of the county line, while Harris played a significant role acting as his man on the ground in Bridgend. Both defendants were on licence at the time of these offences.

DC James Hartery, officer in the case, said: “Tackling county lines drug dealing and associated criminality is a priority for South Wales Police. Kane Griffiths-Jeffries ran the county lines operation known as the Rogue line from London, using two 17-year-old girls to courier class A drugs to Bridgend.
“Thanks to community information we were able to safeguard those two teenagers and investigate Rogue’s network. We hope today’s sentences send a message to those thinking of coming to Bridgend – that we will not tolerate gangs operating within our area – and the Organised Crime Unit is committed to disrupting and dismantling these organisations.

“Gangs involved in county lines criminality deliberately target young and vulnerable children, whom they know are easy to groom, manipulate and control. Under Operation Guardian – the force’s response to organised criminal gangs who target the most vulnerable in our society – we are committed to protecting those at risk in our communities, bringing gangs to justice and making South Wales a hostile environment for those seeking to do harm.

“Local communities have a vital role to play in helping us to do this. I’d urge the public to work with us, telling us what they know and sharing their suspicions and concerns. I can assure them that we can and do act upon the information provided to us and will be relentless in our pursuit of those who see south Wales as an easy target for plying their trade and profiting from others’ misery.”