Dealers jailed for more than 160 years for major Derby drugs conspiracy

Thirteen people – including one who worked for US rapper 50 Cent – have been jailed for a combined total of more than 160 years for their parts in a drugs conspiracy in Derby.

The group were responsible for bringing multiple kilos of high purity cocaine into the county, which was then distributed to customers and other dealers for onward supply.

Tony Lewis and Harninder Purewal were two of the people involved at a high level and seen as the criminals with the connections with others capable of facilitating the supply of multi kilos of Class A drugs.

They were both viewed as being significantly close to the importation of these drugs into the country.

Lewis, who also supplied significant amounts of heroin, dealt with criminals in the UK and abroad, regularly travelling to Dubai as part of his criminal activities. His Dubai based associate would facilitate the importation of Class A drugs into the UK and Lewis was then responsible for the distribution of both cocaine and heroin across the UK and into Scotland, as well as the collection of the criminal proceeds, most of which was arranged remotely by him directing others via his phone.

The drugs brought into Derby were distributed to multiple organised crime groups –   including two headed by Domnic Hulland and Aaron O’Donnell, with Purewal also being a facilitator above them both.

Head of the Sinfin group was Aaron O’Donnell, who bought and supplied large quantities of cocaine through Purewal.

In May 2024, as part of the operation, officers carried out a warrant at the home address of O’Donnell’s trusted associate, Joshua Keyland. O’Donnell was caught in the process of preparing 10 kilograms of cocaine for onward sale and the pair, along with another trusted associate, Jordan Hudson, were arrested.

Evidence recovered from O’Donnell’s phone showed that Purewal had organised this supply via his criminal associates based elsewhere. It was able to be shown that this was not the first or only occasion that this had taken place.

Investigations found that the cocaine had been delivered to O’Donnell by Nasar Ali and Usman Majeed, both from Manchester. Both Majeed and Ali have been convicted and sentenced early this year in relation to Class A drug offences, with the estimated amount supplied agreed to be between 1,600 to 2,400kgs.  Majeed was jailed for more than 15 years while Ali received over 11 years.  

Amanda Hutchinson and Kyle Steadman were both customers of the Sinfin group, buying wholesale quantities of cocaine to sell on.

At the head of the Chaddesden group was Dominic Hulland.

He had access to both national and regional suppliers, including Purewal and Lewis, and was responsible for the supply of multiple kilos of cocaine.

Dominic Hulland also had a network of trusted associates to help him store, prepare and supply the cocaine.

On occasion he would collect his share of cocaine from O’Donnell’s property, showing that while the two men ran separate enterprises independently of one another, they operated like business associates to enable each other’s criminal operations to coexist and be profitable.

Hulland’s’ uncle Alan Hulland helped with collecting and transporting the cocaine. Max Bowler was Dominic Hulland’s right hand man with his house being used to store and prepare cocaine for onward sale. Bowler was also a dealer in his own right – selling on the cocaine purchased from Dominic Hulland.

Lucas Sankey and Valentino Talic were both customers of Hulland, buying cocaine to sell on.  Nicholas Cleary was based in the West Midlands and involved in the regional supply of cocaine from there to Derby, working for Tony Lewis and meeting with Hulland.

In July 2024, Dominic Hulland and Bowler were arrested in possession of over a kilo of cocaine and cash. It was identified through this arrest that Dominic Hulland also had cryptocurrency so another warrant was executed in August 2024 which resulted in just under £70k in cryptocurrency being seized and retained by the police.

The investigation took place over a period of months, with officers evidencing transfers of cocaine and criminal cash between the large network of organised criminals.  

Samir Hassan was involved in the large scale conspiracy in relation to money laundering and national cocaine trafficking. Living in London, he travelled all around the country, largely via train, to collect large amounts of criminal cash.

Hassan claimed to work in the music business and told the court was part of the touring staff for US rapper 50 Cent. Hassan’s defence team even produced a letter from 50 Cent to the court, seeking bail variations for Hassan so that he could accompany him on his European tour.

Analysis of the network’s movements, phones and finances over a significant period of time identified the key individuals responsible for the large scale distribution of Class A drugs once they arrived in the UK, facilitated by other members of the network living overseas.

It was evidenced that the drugs supplied by O’Donnell and Dominic Hulland were destined for a large customer base in Derby that they had built up; many of whom are dealers in their own right who would also profit from the onward sale of Class A drugs.

All of the group were subsequently charged and convicted of a variety of offences.

They appeared at Derby Crown Court for sentence where they were:

• Tony Lewis, 37, of Robert Adam Road, Derby – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply heroin, being concerned in the supply of cannabis and the transfer of criminal property. Lewis has also been sentenced for drugs offences in other forces at the same time – jailed for 11 years
• Harninder Purewal, 47, of Bridle Gate Lane, Derby – found guilty after a trial of conspiracy to supply cocaine – jailed for 20 years
• Dominic Hulland, 29, of Wood Road, Derby – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of criminal property – jailed for 16 years and six months
• Aaron O’Donnell, 36, formerly of Hobkirk Drive, Derby – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, being concerned in the supply of cannabis and possession of criminal property – jailed for 14 years and 8 months
• Max Bowler, 30, of Carlton Road, Long Eaton - pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of cannabis with intent to supply and was found guilty of possession of a firearm with the intent to cause fear or violence – jailed for 13 years and six months
• Samir Hassan, 37, of Benworth Road, London – found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of criminal property – jailed for 18 years and six months
• Alan Hulland, 54, of Main Road, Elvaston – found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine – jailed for nine years
• Nicholas Cleary, 32, of Dolobran Road, Birmingham – found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine – jailed for seven years and six months
• Jordan Hudson, 31, of Beaumont Walk, Derby – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and being concerned in the supply of cannabis – jailed for 10 years
• Joshua Keyland, 35, of Holderness Close, Derby – found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis – jailed for 13 years and six months
• Lucas Sankey, 29, of Duffield Road, Derby – found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine – jailed for eight years and six months
• Valentino Talic, 30, of Beaufort Street, Derby – found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine – jailed for eight years
• Kyle Steadman, 32, of Almond Street, Derby – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine – jailed for 12 years

A 14^th person, Amanda Hutchinson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and will be sentenced on 17 August.

The Senior Investigating Officer for the investigation, Detective Inspector Lee, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) said: “Cocaine supply can often be viewed as victimless; but the harm caused by cocaine trafficking extends far beyond the end user.

“It’s the families of the person whose addiction is causing a decline in mental health and unmanageable debt.

“It’s the children growing up exposed to drug use and its effects, which can contribute to their physical and emotional neglect.

“It’s the harm caused by domestic abuse perpetrators whose inhibitions have lowered and their aggression increased due to their use of cocaine.

“It’s the victims of cocaine fuelled serious violence when on a night out, or the innocent road users put at risk by those driving under the influence of cocaine.

“It’s children and vulnerable adults exploited into taking the most risk, for the least reward, to facilitate the supply chain from trafficker to end user.

“It’s the communities having to suffer an atmosphere of terrifying violence when an organised crime group takes hold of an area.

“Cocaine trafficking drives violence, intimidation, and exploitation, allowing criminal networks to maintain their influence and their profits.

“Without tackling those at the top of the chain, the cycle often repeats itself. Our aim is to get to the worst offenders first and cut off the supply which ultimately feeds and fuels the associated harm across our communities.

“There’s no denying that these criminal networks work hard and are constantly advancing their skills to increase their profits and evade law enforcement.

“This investigation and the result shows that we too work hard to continue to advance and evolve our skills to match and adapt to the efforts and techniques shown by the criminals we seek to disrupt.”