DRUG dealers were snared by cops after boasting of their lavish lifestyle in music videos filled with champagne and wads of cash.
Twelve members were sentenced yesterday for a combined 130 years after starring in a glitzy rap video in which they flaunted Rolex watches and posed with thick wads of cash.
YouTubeSporting designer clothes, the group can be seen holding wads of cash[/caption]
YouTubeThey can be heard rapping about knives and brag about drug profits[/caption]
YouTubeSome of the gangsters sprayed Champagne from the roof of the Rolls Royce[/caption]
In the YouTube video, the designer clothes clad-gangsters can be seen spraying each other with hundred-pound bottles of Dom Peringon Champagne.
Many of the members ride into the choreographed music video in a £250,000 Rolls Royce – fit with a personalised number plate – boasting about knives and drug profits.
Dozens of balaclava-clad men are shown dancing around on the streets of Nottingham, setting off flares and making gang signs.
But the designer clothes-clad gangsters were more sheepish when Nottinghamshire Police busted through their doors in a series of early morning raids in February 2023.
The Class A crooks were busted after a “lengthy and complex” investigation into the industrial scale county lines group, who flooded towns with heroin and cocaine.
Officers discovered that the high profile drug gang’s empire ran as far as Scotland, with 13 different supply lines attached to the group.
Children were often exploited by the armed group, ferrying drugs across towns in Nottinghamshire and neighbouring counties Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.
Based on evidence found by cops, it is understood that the organisation served more than 1,400 customers, sending out more than 33,000 mass-marketed messages.
Hand-written notes from Sipho Ncube, 29, one of the gang’s leaders, revealed that the crook aimed to earn £20,000 a week from dealing drugs.
Body cam footage shows the 29-year-old running from the scene of a road crash in an last-ditch attempt to evade cops.
Raids on properties connected to Ncube uncovered drugs, a Rolex and gold teeth grills.
He was jailed for 15 years after repeatedly being found in possession of knives and continuing to “brazenly” offend despite being on bail.
Another senior member, Jephte Fikula, 29, was jailed for 21 years after police raids found live firearms in houses linked to him.
His DNA was discovered on a magazine from one of the guns.
Speaking on the arrests, Detective Inspector Luke Todd, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Class A drugs ruin countless lives and the trade in these substances brings misery to our communities.
“That is why we devote so many hours of police work and have specialist teams working on cases like this to disrupt and shut down drug lines.
“I’d like to thank the many officers from multiple teams who worked on this case.
“Investigating one drug line can be a complex process but 13 lines have been linked to this group, which shows the enormous scale of their operation.
YouTubeDetective Inspector Luke Todd praised his officers for the investigation[/caption]
YouTubeRaids on properties uncovered drugs, Rolex watches and gold teeth grills[/caption]
YouTubeDozens of balaclava-clad men are shown dancing around on the streets of Nottingham[/caption]
“Following today’s sentencings, our thoughts are with the gang’s many victims, both the vulnerable people they coerced into selling their drugs and the unfortunate and desperate addicts who became their customers.
“Ultimately, whole communities, both in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere, will benefit from these drug lines being identified and shut down.
“The public are an extra set of eyes and ears for us in trying to tackle criminal gangs head-on.
“The information also allows us to engage with the young people, which is hugely important in our battle against County Lines.”
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