Devon and Cornwall Police have welcomed the jail sentences handed out to a drugs gang, one of whose leaders was based in Sidmouth.

The gang trafficked £1.5million worth of Class A and B drugs from London into Devon and Cornwall.

Last week Philip Fallows, 36, of Cotmaton Road, was jailed for seven years and eight months.

Paul Chapman, aged 67, of South Lawn, Sidford, was sentenced to three years and three months for acting as a courier, collecting supplies of drugs and delivering large sums of money.

A total of 13 people were sentenced for their involvement in the drugs operation, including Damien Carnell, 38, of Manstone Avenue in Sidmouth; Gary Hedgeland, 31, of SunnyHill, Ottery St Mary; Kelly Thomas, 42, of Butts Road, Ottery St Mary; Jonathan Keene, 35, of Mill Street, Ottery St Mary; Scott Baylis, 44, of Albion Street, Exmouth; and Matthew Harris, 47, of Albion Street, Exmouth.

Other gang members were based in Hertfordshire, Salisbury, Exeter and Camelford in Cornwall.

Following the sentencing, police have revealed that the investigation, named Operation Musical, begin in June 2021 after officers from the Proactive Unit in Exeter identified intelligence about drugs being supplied from the Sidmouth area.

The police team spent months tracking phone data, building up a picture of the group’s operation, before carrying out a series of warrants in August 2022 where they made multiple arrests and seized drugs, cash, and other assets.

Officers identified the lead conspirators as Philip Fallows in Sidmouth and Jamie Chapman in Hertfordshire, who were orchestrating and coordinating the supply of drugs from London to Sidmouth, where Fallows then arranged for their onward distribution.

Fallows was receiving up to 19kg of cannabis to his home address at a time, and then using encrypted messaging services to liaise with the group and arrange for them to collect it and sell it on.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Guy Biggar, said: “This was a well-orchestrated operation which facilitated the supply of a significant number of drugs into Devon and Cornwall.

“This investigation began thanks to intelligence and information being reported by the public to police, which allowed officers to start tracking and monitoring the group’s messages and movements, in order to take action.

“County Lines drug supply into our communities is not something that we will tolerate, and we will be persistent in pursuing those who seek to bring this harm.

“As this case goes to show, the information reported to us by the public and partner agencies is hugely important.

“I urge anyone who has any information the supply or use of drugs in their community to report it to us so that we can continue making disruptions and bring offenders to justice.”