EIGHT men have been sentenced in connection with two major drugs conspiracies in the county.

Amongst them, a Gloucester man has been sentenced to a total of 6 and a half years in prison for co-ordinating both conspiracies.

Reuben St Elmo Brissett, 34 and of Bristol Road, Quedgeley, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two charges of conspiracy to supply class B drugs and was given the prison term at Gloucester Crown Court today (Thursday June 19).

The first conspiracy involved the supply of multiple packages of MCAT into the city from Leicester in October last year.

Police tracked Brissett as he met his co-conspirators to collect drugs at a family address in London Road in Gloucester before stopping him near junction 11 of the M5 following a visit he made to Leicester the following day.

Officers seized mephedrone (also known as MCAT), worth £40,000, stashed in a holdall and arrested Brissett.

Amongst the others involved in the conspiracy, Jason Danter, 44 and of Burlington Road in Southampton, who tested the quality of the drugs for Brissett, was sentenced to a 12 month community and supervision order; and Damian Wright, 39 and of Hampton Close in Coalville, who was the supplier to Brissett, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Premjit Rai, 27 and of Fairford Close in Redditch, who acted as the Midlands link to Brissett, will be sentenced at a later date.

The second conspiracy took place in September last year and on this occasion involved Brissett coordinating the supply of cannabis from Telford to Gloucester.

During the investigation, which again utilised surveillance, Automatic Number Plate Recognition and telephone analysis, £150,000 worth of herbal cannabis destined for the county's streets was intercepted by police and seized.

Around £90,000 in cash was also discovered and confiscated from the offenders.

Amongst the other defendants who pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiring to supply class B drugs in this case: Imram Hussain, 31 and of Dunsheath in Telford, who acted as the controlling factor in Telford, was sentenced to a total of 2 years 9 months in prison.

Justin Edwards, 29 and of Bishopsdale in Telford, a courier working for Imran Hussain, was sentenced to a total of 21 months in prison.

Faisal Nazir, 36 and of Doddington in Telford, another courier working for Imran Hussain, was sentenced to a one year community order, 9 moth supervision order and 150 hours unpaid work.

Michael Campbell, 22 and of Winchester Drive in Tuffley, who took the delivery of drugs for Brissett, was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

The prosecution represents another success for Gloucestershire's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, who only last month brought Brissett's brother Rodney, who had been orchestrating a million pound cocaine conspiracy, to justice. He was sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison.

Detective Inspector Neil Carpenter said: “These cases involved significant quantities of class B drugs being transported from the Midlands to Gloucester for distribution across the city so our intervention will have had a significant impact on the drugs scene in the city.

“MCAT and similar derivatives are very prevalent at the moment, partly because they represent a cheap alternative to cocaine. However, given how the precise ingredients of these so called ‘party’ drugs can alter between batches you never know what you might be taking and the risk to your health can be considerable, as we have seen elsewhere in the country.

“The Brissett brothers have clearly been significant dealers in the city and beyond but we have thwarted their activities on this and previous occasions. It should serve as a lesson to anyone thinking of becoming involved in this type of criminality that you will be targeted, you will be convicted and you can expect lengthy prison sentences. The fact they are now out of the equation is thanks to the dedication and hard work of my team of officers working alongside other Force assets.

“We’ll be looking at recovering the ill gotten gains from these defendants now through Proceeds of Crime hearings.

"We will also pursue a serious crime prevention order against Brissett, which will impose strict restrictions on him to limit his activities on release from prison."