Dealers jailed for crack and heroin county line between Chesterfield and Sheffield which was foiled by undercover police

Chesterfield dealers – often addicts themselves – were foiled trying to sell crack cocaine and heroin to plain clothes police from the town’s Casa Hotel.

They were provided with the drugs by “bosses” from Sheffield who were responsible for organising phone lines, vehicles, recruitment and payment of wages.

Derby Crown Court heard the operation was ongoing between 2021 and 2022.

Two defendants from Chesterfield were jailed for nearly five-and-a-half years for their involvement – while another two were handed suspended sentences.

The court heard how Dale Archer, 38, was found with heroin, cash and mobile phones during a police drug buy in November 2021.

Judge Shaun Smith KC said Archer, who had previously committed similar offences, was part of the operation’s “inner circle” and “knew what he was doing”.

Archer, of Milton Place, Chesterfield, was jailed for three years and four months.

Harley Cocking, 20, was jailed for two years for her part in the dealing enterprise, with Judge Smith noting “you got yourself involved in this operation and you were pretty enthusiastic”.The court heard Cocking, of Mercaston Close, Chesterfield, was now free of drugs.

Kathryn Hill, 47, and Louis Grainger, 21, both played lower roles and avoided jail.

Hill, of Hatton drive, Chesterfield, was handed a 12-month community order for allowing her home to be used by dealers in exchange for drugs.

Grainger, of Shirland Street, Chesterfield, was jailed for two years suspended for 21 months.The court heard he was a “record keeper” for the drugs transactions – but he had now taken “substantial steps” to turn his life around.

At the opposite end of the scale, two defendants from Sheffield were jailed for their more serious involvement in supplying and managing the operation.

Oscar Sewell, 19, of no fixed abode, was the “boss” of the operation at a “ground” level, the court heard.

Judge Smith told him: “You were running a drugs line and you enjoyed it. It made you feel important and big.

"You made people aware of how cool you felt by buying expensive clothes, jewellery and luggage and the like.

"You were ordering people around, getting stock, making sure it was knocked out and making sure people’s wages were paid.”

He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Abdul Wodood, 27, of Mauncer Crescent, Sheffield, set up and paid for the phone line which was used during the conspiracy and was “top of the tree” at the street level, the court heard.

He also recruited a teenager aged 17 who “did the legwork” for him, said Judge Smith.

Judge Smith told him: “You were very hands on. You involved others – some were selected by other people but you also involved a 17-year-old.

"You involved yourself in obtaining vehicles to try and make sure the operation was running smoothly.”

However the court heard Wodood used the money he earned to keep his family afloat rather than to find a lavish lifestyle.

He was jailed for seven years and two months.