A DRUG dealing gang has been put behind bars for its part in a multi-million pound plot to supply heroin.

Between April and November last year, the organised crime group were involved in a major operation to bring £2m worth of heroin from Liverpool to Darlington before bulking it out with paracetamol and caffeine and selling it on.

The four men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and were sentenced at Teesside Crown Court last Friday.

Scott Wells, 36, of Hargreave Terrace, Darlington, was jailed for seven years for his role in organising the group and meeting with the supplier in Liverpool.

Daniel Giroux, 38, of Barden Moor Road, Darlington, was sentenced to six years in prison. The court heard he took over the lead role in the group while Wells was out of the country.

Christian Oliver, 45, of Stocksmoor Road, Darlington, and Colin Hughes, 36, of Chelmsford Street, Darlington, both received three years in prison.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Ashton said: “We are really pleased that these four men who were responsible for the distribution of heroin in Darlington are now off the streets and behind bars.

"Durham Police takes organised crime extremely seriously and these sentences send out a clear message to those who are actively involved in organised crime that we will find you, we will prosecute you and we will bring you to justice.”

The group was prosecuted as part of Operation Sledgehammer, Durham Police’s campaign against organised crime in the Country Durham and Darlington area.