Man jailed for ten years as part of the force’s biggest ever drugs enquiries

The final member of a huge drugs gang which was the subject of a three year investigation by Cleveland Police has today been jailed for ten years.

Christopher Walker, 45, evaded capture by police since 2013 while his many co-conspirators were arrested and jailed, with 31 drug gang members receiving more than 230 years’ jail sentences between them.

Operation Cobweb, one of the force’s biggest ever drugs enquiries, began after what officers believed to be a routine call from a resident reporting drug dealing in their neighbourhood.

But enquiries soon revealed a highly organised gang - made up of defined roles from the so-called Kingpin to warehousemen and runners - was flooding Teesside with heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and MDMA on an industrial scale

Officers from Cleveland Police’s Organised Crime Unit (OCU) discovered that tens of thousands of pounds were making the return journey across the Pennines back to the North West, with people who were previously unknown to police and often with full time jobs acting as couriers making around 100 trips between the two areas.

Detectives worked with colleagues from Greater Manchester Police over the course of the investigation, seizing large amounts of drugs as well as cutting agents, cash and numerous unregistered pay as you go phones whose contents - many thousands of messages - had to be downloaded and meticulously examined for evidence. 

Enquiries also saw a series of raids take place with officers from both forces simultaneously targeting addresses across Teesside, North Yorkshire, Durham and Manchester; one day of intensive arrest activity involved 320 officers.

One after another the gang members were arrested, with some immediately pleading guilty due to the strength of the evidence against them. 

Others underwent trials starting in March 2014 and by the following year 31 members of the gang had received sentences ranging from 18 months to 22 years.

Efforts to locate Walker continued, culminating in his arrest in Lancashire last August. 

He was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Teesside Crown Court on 8^th February this year.

Speaking after sentencing, Inspector Colin Helyer said: “The capture, arrest, conviction and sentencing of Walker brings an extremely satisfactory end to Operation Cobweb – one of Cleveland Police’s longest running and most complex enquiries into the supply of Class A drugs.”

Organised Crime Unit Chief Inspector Sarah Robinson added: “My officers worked tirelessly to secure convictions for the other gang members who were dealt with previously.

“Today’s result proves police will never give up and we will use every available resource  to bring to justice those who peddle drugs and bring misery to our communities.

“Finally I’d like to thank our colleagues at GMP and at the Crown Prosecution Service for their vital contribution to our work.”