An international drug smuggling ring which imported more than a tonne of cannabis was traced back to its County Durham roots.
Coundon lynchpin Jordan Stoker organised flights to and from Thailand for drug mules to bring back suitcases packed with the Class B drug.
The 30-year-old roped in his mum, dad and brother, as he helped to flood the region with drugs while working for an organised crime gang.
A series of raids targeted other members of the conspiracy and ten people ended up before Teesside Crown Court for their role in the drugs racket.
Judge Jonathan Carroll sentenced the gang to more than 75 years in prison combined for the joint enterprise.
He said the group were also involved in trafficking of cocaine and money laundering offences before police carried out a series of raids at addresses, predominantly in Shildon and Bishop Auckland areas.
“The quantities of drugs involved in this case are conservatively put at more than 1.3 tonnes of cannabis which is known to have been imported and more than 40kg of cocaine,” he said.
“It is acknowledged that none of these defendants, including Jordan Stoker, were at the head of the organised crime group and none of them are in a leading role but all played their part in importing the drugs.”
Mr Herrmann said the interception of a number of mules resulted in the group changing their plans and getting them to return from Thailand via a mainland European airport.
Teesside Crown Court heard how £7,000 had been spent on hired vehicles within two months of the conspiracy to evade a prohibition on importation of a controlled drug.
Matthew Goodwin and Trelawny Brown were arrested while operating as drugs mules for the drugs gang.
The home of three Shildon brothers, Ian, Shaun and Christopher Sowerby, was used by Stoker to stash cannabis and cocaine and when the house on Teessdale Walk was raided in November last year six kilos of cocaine was recovered.
Mr Herrmann said a number of suitcases used to ship the cannabis into the country, with associated flight tags, were also recovered.
The court heard how Stoker also drafted in his mother Sarah Leighton and brother Ethan Smith to help him count money relating to the drugs trade.
Smith was found to have counted seven bundles of cash amounting to £95,050 and his mother used a note-counting machine to account for £279,210 in drug money.
Mr Herrmann said Jordan Stoker was involved in the drug smuggling from June 2024 until February this year when the raids were carried out.
Stoker was gambling heavily and addicted to cocaine when he was drawn into the drug trafficking world but has declined to name who he was working for.
Mr Herrmann said: “They are violent and ruthless men and he understands that they have already put money on his head and he is afraid of the consequences which may follow.”
The court heard how the crime gang threatened to attack his partner and child with acid if he tried to back out of the smuggling arrangement to clear his debts.
Stoker organised transportation to a number of airports including Newcastle, Heathrow and Manchester, but played no role in the recruitment of the drug mules.
The Stokers were caught on CCTV arriving at the airports on numerous occasions as well as one trip to Liverpool where they picked up a suitcase filled with drugs.
Mr Herrmann described Lamb as a ‘trusted and close assistant’ to Stoker and was caught on CCTV picking up drugs from mules and his co-accused.
The 45-year-old was responsible for hiring the vast majority of the vehicles used to transport the mules and drugs around the country, he said.
Passing sentence Judge Carroll said the gang had been handling industrial levels of cannabis and cocaine on behalf of the organised crime gang.
“All of you are to be sentenced for your differing roles in a very substantial conspiracy to import and distribute very substantial quantities of cannabis in the North East and for four of you your part in the commercial supply of large quantities of cocaine,” he said.
“This was a very large-scale criminal conspiracy. I acknowledge that there is very likely to be others, not before the court, who are higher up in the conspiracy.”
Jordan Stoker, of Hambleton Road, Coundon, Bishop Auckland, was jailed for 19 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis, conspiracy to evade a prohibition on importation of a controlled drug, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.
Paul Lamb, of McCullagh Gardens, Bishop Auckland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to evade a prohibition on importation of a controlled drug. The 45-year-old was sentenced to seven years and two months.
Stoker’s father, Brian, of Waterloo Terrace, Shildon, was jailed for five years and two months after admitting conspiracy to evade a prohibition on importation of a controlled drug in his role as a driver.
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Leighton, of Queen Street, Shildon, was sentenced to 22-and-a-half months in custody suspended for two years for possession of criminal property. She was ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.
Her son, Ethan Smith, was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years for the same charge. He was also ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.
The three Sowerby brothers, all of Teesdale Walk, Shildon, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to supply cocaine. Ian Sowerby, 32, was sentenced to ten years and ten months while 30-year-old Christoper and Shaun, 37, were sentenced to 13 years and one month in custody.
Drugs mules, Brown, 31, of Rotherham, and 25-year-old Goodwin, from Wigan, were jailed for three years and four and a half months and three years and nine months respectively.
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