Police drugs team cracking the gangs who train in city

The city police team has also jailed 27 hard drug dealers for a total of 60 years since January.

Operation Bilbo was launched in 2012 to tackle city drug dealing and has now seen 68 dealers sent to prison for a total of 162 years.

The special drugs team has seized £230,000 worth of the Class A drugs this year and also confiscated £81,500 in drug money.

And the head of the operation last night said many pushers caught were ‘junior’ London gangsters who had been sent to Oxford to prove their worth.

But Sgt James Blackmore said his team would always be busy because when a dealer got jailed someone else usually took their place.

He said: “We will never, ever stop it. What we hope to do is contain it so it does not get out of hand.

“When it gets out of hand that is when the serious violence comes.”

He said there would always be drug dealers wanting to prey on Oxford, adding: “They simply get into it because they are greedy and there is money to be made.

“We see the junior members of the gangs from London who get sent out to test themselves.
“Location is the biggest thing.

“It is an hour down the road on the M40.

“Every London-based suspect we catch also has links to gangs in London.”

Sgt Blackmore said the team’s unofficial target was to jail dealers for another 100 years in total in 2014 to bring the grand total up to 200 years.

He said: “We are on target and will probably beat it. It is consistent to last year so anything less may mean we aren’t doing as well.”

The amount of drug money seized since January was proportionally more than the £89,000 confiscated by the team between spring 2012 and December last year.

But Sgt Blackmore said it did not mean there were more drugs in Oxford, adding: “It is difficult to read into that because sometimes you can be lucky with how many drugs you find.

“It is more to do with locking people up because ultimately that is what we are here to do.

“And there are fewer drug dealers on the streets than when we started so we have to work a little bit harder.”

Sgt Blackmore said his team was now getting a reputation among dealers in Oxford.

He said: “It clearly has not put people off, but we are certainly known around the criminal world for being a successful team that has locked quite a few people up.”

There are currently 27 suspects charged by the team waiting to appear before Oxford Crown Court.

• Kenston McIntosh

Kenston McIntosh: He received a three-and-a-half year prison term after CCTV caught him throwing away a sock stuffed with drugs.

The 55-year-old, of Freelands Road, was arrested after a raid on the Nelson pub in Cowley in May. The sock was found to contain heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine with a street value of about £1,460.

He was also found to have £590 in cash and a list of customers.

McIntosh admitted three counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply and was sentenced on Monday.

• Kyran McFarlane

Kyran McFarlane: He was jailed for four-and-a-half years last week after admitting possessing crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

The 23-year-old was caught with the drugs in Oxford in June and was also found with an illegal CS spray weapon.

McFarlane, of Emperor Gardens in Greater Leys, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Friday.

• Devon Thompson

Devon Thompson: The Rose Hill man hid £620 worth of cocaine and heroin in a Kinder Surprise egg.

When police searched his car in January they found the 39 wraps of crack and 23 of heroin in the treat.

They also found £1,000 in drug money in his car and home after arresting him in Cowley.

The 38-year-old, of Kelburne Road, admitted possession with intent to supply and was jailed for 32 months at Oxford Crown Court last month.

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