DRUG dealers who brought heroin and cocaine to Somerset from London have received prison sentences totalling more than 20 years for a criminal enterprise estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Three men and two women were today (Monday, March 21) sentenced at Taunton Crown Court for conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

The convictions followed a joint operation between Avon and Somerset Police and the Metropolitan Police targeting county lines drug supply.

The group were found by police to have brought approximately 5kg of illegal drugs to Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil from the capital between August 2020 and February 2021.

Jurors found Sonny Sheppard, 31, of Blackwell Lane, London, guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was jailed for 15 years.

Four others pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs:

Tia Heenan, 25 of Golden Square, Soho, London, was jailed for 45 months.

Kevin Sheppard, 50 of Fletching Road, Greenwich, was jailed for 52 months.

Thalia Banks, 20 of Hunstrete Lane, in Compton Dando, sentenced to 18 months, suspended for two years.

And Kyeron Silk, 28 of Ancona Road, London, received a custodial sentence equal to the 13 months he had served on remand and an exceptional community order.

Judge James Townsend said the defendants were involved in a sophisticated, well-organised and large-scale county lines supply operation.

He described the operation as a menace bringing intimidation, misery and violence to young people in Somerset.

Detective Inspector Richard Horsfall said: “I would like to highlight and praise the public for their support in bringing this case to court. Without their information and engagement, DS Paul Cobb and his diligent team would not have had the opportunity to target this group and take a county lines drug group out of action.

“This drugs line had been a problem that we had been aware of for some time, and through partnership working between Avon and Somerset Police and the Metropolitan Police, we were able to target them and ensure they were robustly dealt with in relation to the harm they have caused to our local communities in Yeovil, Bridgwater and Taunton.

“We hope the prison sentences handed out today act as a warning and deterrent to anyone involved in the supply of drugs and give confidence to the public that their reporting leads to positive police action.”