Drugs gang jailing 'dents trade'

24 August 2012 Last updated at 06:10 ET

The conviction of a drugs gang has put "a considerable dent" in the trade in Gloucestershire, police said.

Racing driver Laurence Kilby, 40, of Cheltenham, was jailed with 11 other drug smugglers.

Bristol Crown Court heard he ran a gang moving drugs from Eastern Europe to London, west England and south Wales.

"In terms of Mr Kilby's operation as a drugs supplier in the South West, I think we can safely say that that no longer exists," said Det Insp Bean.

Kilby was heavily in debt and turned to crime to maintain his lifestyle of fast cars and high living, the court was told.

He was jailed in June but his conviction, and those of the rest of the gang, can now be reported following the conclusion of another trial.

Kilby and Vladan Vujovic, 43, of Grange Road, London were found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Both were jailed for 18 years.

Det Insp Bean, from Gloucestershire Police, who led the investigation, said it had put a "considerable dent" in the county's drugs trade.

"Obviously the six-and-a-half kilos that we seized, that is now destroyed, so any activity we can do to get this stuff off the streets, we're very pleased about," he said.

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Drugs gang jailing 'dents trade'