The ringleader of a gang has been given extra jail time for supplying drugs while he was being investigated by police for other crimes.
William Free, formerly of Bossington Drive in Taunton, who is already serving an 11-year sentence for conspiracy to supply cocaine, has been sentenced again for committing the same offence while he was released under investigation.
The South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) said Free, 30, had worked with gangs in the Midlands and Essex to supply drugs to the South West.
He was sentenced to an additional six years – to run consecutively – after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.
Det Ch Insp Adam Smith from SWROCU said Free, who was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court on Wednesday, played a “leading role” in the organised crime group.
He came to the attention of police in March 2022 due to his association with Anthony Cunningham, 32, from Birmingham.
Cunningham, who supplied cocaine, ketamine and cannabis into the South West from the Midlands, is currently serving a five-and-a-half year sentence.
In May, he was handed an additional nine-month sentence for his part alongside Free in the supply of drugs.
One one occasion, police stopped Cunningham’s car on the M5 in South Gloucestershire and found bags of money, which officers had seen Free load into the car.
The SWROCU said the bags were found to contain £264,625 in cash, with a further £39,855 found hidden behind the driver’s seat.
Later the same year, officers tracked the movements of Free and other gang members who were bringing in cannabis from an organised crime group in Essex.
Evidence from Free’s phone showed that between March and December 2022 he conspired to supply approximately 58kg (127lbs) of cocaine, 53kg (116lbs) of cannabis and 45kg (99lbs) of ketamine.
Three of his associates, Stuart Davey, Wayne Smith and Kataldo Mulaj, were sentenced on 3 October this year for their roles in the gang.
Det Ch Insp Smith said: “We are committed to tackling and disrupting serious criminals like Free who are intent on supplying drugs to dealers based in the South West.
“Those drugs are ultimately headed for our streets and our communities causing untold harm.”
