Man who hid hard drugs worth £1.4m gets 15 years behind bars

Paul Sherrington was handed a 15-year jail sentence at Sheffield Crown Court, marking the end of a lengthy undercover operation which uncovered cocaine, heroin and amphetamine being stored across two counties.

The 50-year-old, from Barnsley, was tailed by officers South Yorkshire Police on a journey to Nottinghamshire in February, where he was spotted moving a white box from the boot of his black VW Golf into a Vauxhall van.

The van was stopped a short time later and the box found to contain 7kg of amphetamine.

Sherrington was caught out for a second time in March carrying 1kg of heroin under the passenger seat of his car, again en-route to Nottinghamshire.

Further raids on his home in Thurnscoe uncovered class A drugs being stored in the loft and garage.

Another property belonging to Sherrington had dealer lists and equipment associated with dealing drugs such as mixing agents, polythene bags, gloves and weighing apparatus inside.

Detectives seized around 2kg of cocaine, 2kg of heroin and 49kg of amphetamine with a street value of £1.4m during the course of the investigation

Sherrington pleaded guilty to the supply of 7kg of amphetamine, possession with intent to supply heroin and being concerned in the supply of amphetamine, cocain and heroin.

Detective Constable Shaun Peel, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “This has been a long and complex investigation into the wholesale supply of Class A and B controlled drugs in South Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

“The number of charges brought over the course of the investigation is testament to the dedication and determination of a small group of officers who have worked on this covert investigation.”