A CRIMINAL gang which supplied cocaine across Warwickshire has been jailed, with tens of thousands of pounds of assets seized following a lengthy police investigation.
The operation began in June 2023 when Manjinder Pama, 45, living in Nuneaton at the time, was caught with £11,000 in cash and almost £13,000 of cocaine.
He was convicted and handed a six-year prison sentence.
Detectives then uncovered a wider supply network, including his supplier and the people working beneath him.
Officers also discovered that Pama had continued to run the supply line from prison, using coded phrases such as ‘building materials’.
Police identified Rachel Byrne, 34, of Worcestershire, and Shaun Neal, 39, of Nuneaton, as being part of the group – catching them with a further £13,000 of cocaine when they stopped Neal’s car in 2023.
Detectives then discovered that Kamlesh Kaur, 40, of Wolverhampton, was also involved and she was arrested shortly after.
Lisa Banks, 39, of Nuneaton was also identified and arrested in October 2023.
After all evidence were reviewed, all of the suspects were re-arrested in November 2024.
The group’s upward supplier, Dipak Ram, 41, of Birmingham, was also arrested, with detectives finding a further £13,000 of cocaine and £10,000 in cash.
At Warwick Crown Court, Pama had a further 33 months and a Serious Crime Prevention Order added to his existing prison sentence.
Ram was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
Byrne was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. Kaur was sentenced to four years in prison.
Banks was sentenced to a two year suspended sentence, rehab activity and electronic curfew.
Neal was given an 18-month suspended sentenced and ordered to undertake unpaid work and rehab activity.
Det Sgt Daniel Lydster, who led the investigation, said: “Each one of these individuals was willing to spread misery, poverty and crime across Warwickshire to try to make some cash.
“This was a long, complex investigation and we couldn’t be more pleased that we have broken up this group and presented them to the courts to be held accountable.
“Cocaine fuels a chain of suffering that starts half way across the world and ends in damaging our communities here in Warwickshire – and anyone involved in its supply can expect to face justice.”
