10:49am Thursday 9th July 2009
By Neil Hunter
TWO men have been jailed after being caught during an operation which led to the biggest haul of cocaine ever recovered by police in County Durham.
Lee Armstrong and Deith Bridges were arrested when officers raided properties in Darlington and Richmond, North Yorkshire, last December.
A total of £500,000 worth of cocaine was found during the swoops on four addresses in Darlington, and Bridges and Armstrong later pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of drugs.
Armstrong, 41, of Moffat Close, Darlington, was locked up for seven years, and Bridges, 37, of Salters Lane, Darlington, was jailed for five years.
Teesside Crown Court heard that the raids were the culmination of months of undercover work aimed at tackling the town’s burgeoning cocaine trade.
Following the December 11 night-time raids, Det Supt Neil Malkin, of Durham Police, said: “The amount recovered is significant.
Ten kilos is something we have never recovered, certainly in County Durham, and I would guess it is one of the biggest in the North-East.”
Plain-clothed officers targeted four houses in Darlington, including one in Moffat Close, Whinfield, and one in Salters Lane South, Haughton.
At the same time, officers secured the Liberty Health Club, in Richmond, in preparation for a search, but nothing of significance was found there.
Seven kilograms of cocaine were found in the house in Moffat Close, as well as £3,000 in cash – believed to be the proceeds from the sale of drugs.
About three kilograms of cocaine were found in a vehicle at another address.
Det Supt Malkin said at the time: “There is a cocaine problem in Darlington which we are trying to address. It is a case of supply and demand.
“When there is a market like this where there is clearly a significant amount of drugs floating around, there is obviously a demand for it.
“We have to try and break the supply chain. Our efforts will continue.
We will strive to make the streets of Darlington and County Durham as safe as possible.”
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