THE ex-girlfriend of a cocaine kingpin jailed for 21 years has pleaded guilty to possession of criminal property in connection with a large-scale drug operation.

Brothers Richard and Patrick Gray were jailed in the summer of 2022 after being found guilty of supplying large quantities of cocaine to ‘downstream customers’ across Oxfordshire.

They were caught after police swooped in on the gang in May, raiding properties in Oxford, Witney, Banbury, and Milton Keynes, seizing 2.5kg of high-purity cocaine and around £110,000 in cash.

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Ringleader Richard Gray, then 33, was jailed for 21 years while his older brother, then 44, received 18 years.

Richard Gray’s former partner, Melissa Grant, was on trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with possession of criminal property, namely £44,315 in cash.

The court she did not take an ‘active part’ in the operation but she was aware of it.

However, the 33-year-old pleaded guilty a week after the trial started on January 23.

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She was standing trial with Mark Hickford, 51, and Liam Field, 26, who are accused of being ‘downstream customers’ of the drug kingpins and have been charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

Hickford and Field are still on trial, both having denied the offences.

A sentencing date for Grant has not yet been set until the trial of Hickford and Field is complete.