Albert “Papa” Thoms was sentenced to ten years in jail by Teesside Crown Court after he admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. The 32-year-old violent gangster headed the conspiracy, monitoring stock, arranging couriers’ travel and even dealing occasionally. His girlfriend and fellow Jamaican, Claudine Neil, 38, was given a reduced sentence of two years in jail when she was sentenced in the summer. Neil played a major role in the network as the telephone operator who arranged the deals – and agreed to give evidence against the rest of the gang. She is now a protected witness and is unlikely to be deported back to the West Indies because of her endangered status as a supergrass. Thoms and his gang moved into Middlesbrough and controlled the supply of crack cocaine to the North-East. His operation made at least £1m profit a year, and threatened to cause a turf war with local gangsters, police feared. After sentencing, Detective Inspector Dave Lamplough, one of four officers commended for their work on the case, said breaking up the gang could have prevented a huge increase in gun crime, like that seen in other UK cities.
He said: “This has certainly reduced the availability of crack cocaine in the region, and there is evidence there has been a reduction in acquisitive crime. The availability of crack cocaine in this area was reasonably limited, so this group could have been one of the main suppliers.
“As time progressed, it was inevitable that there would have been turf wars and increased violence.” Thoms’ second-in-command – Lloyd Ormsby, 33, from Galbraith Street, London – received a seven-year sentence for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Major dealers Wycliffe Clarke, 37, of Briggeford Close, London, and Marcus Steadman, 30, of no fixed address and who was an escapee from prison at the time of the operation, were jailed for four years each. Three other Jamaican nationals – Neisha Hemmings, 26, from Oxford, Sushana Young, 24, from Wolverhampton, and Stephen Alcide, 47, from London – were given community sentences for lesser roles in the conspiracy. Head of the gang flooding the region with the highlyaddictive drug was identified as Albert “Papa” Thoms. One of his many girlfriends, Claudine Neil, was the telephone “hub” known as Donna to those who called a variety of numbers to make orders. Months of undercover work was carried out to monitor the movements of Thoms, Neil and the couriers and dealers who worked for them. In April last year, more than 400 officers – including armed teams – were used in six force areas to carry out raids and arrests. More than £60,000 in cash and huge amounts of crack cocaine were recovered in the swoops on Teesside, County Durham, North Yorkshire and Tyneside, as well as London, the West Midlands and South Yorkshire. It emerged that the Donna network was making a profit of almost £3,000 a day. Thoms is thought to have had the drugs imported from Jamaica, mixed them with a bulking agent to increase quantity and profit and arranged for their delivery north. Judge Les Spittle ordered a public commendation to Detective Inspector Dave Lamplough, Acting Detective Sergeant Tony Keogh and Detective Constables June Campbell and Phil Burns. Judge Spittle said: “This investigation was a monumental task and this must have been a tremendous team effort. “Each of these officers is representative of a particular area of this investigation and I am pleased there should be on record a public commendation, not only of your work, but also of the vast amount of work of other police officers involved in this investigation.” After the case, the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Sean Price, said: “I firmly believe that the dismantling of this drugs network from the top downwards has prevented the emergence of gun crime on the streets of Cleveland. “The Operation Elland team, led by Det Insp Dave Lamplough, deserve immense credit for their determination to bring to justice those that would bring such misery to the streets of Middlesbrough and the North-East. The large number of convictions, including those at the very top of supply chain, sends out the powerful message that if you come to Middlesbrough to deal drugs, regardless of whether you are local, national or international, you will go to jail. “I also want to stress the important role the public have played in this matter.
“It may be that having supplied us with information, some local people may have been disappointed not to see immediate action. “I want to assure the public that there are very good operational reasons for this. Timing in this operation was crucial and once all the information was in place, we were able to move in, secure evidence and take out the whole network in one go. “This would not have been possible without the assistance of the public and I would urge anyone with any further information to contact us immediately.” Det Insp Lamplough said: “It has been two years of painstaking work, but results like today are why you become a police officer.
“It has been a privilege to work with such a dedicated team. “This was a partnership between police and public, which has resulted in the removal of an entire drugs network, not just from the streets of Middlesbrough, but the UK.
“I welcome the sentences handed out today, which should act as a clear warning to those who mistakenly see drugs as a way of making easy money. “I can assure any other gang hoping to step into the shoes of the Donna network that we will be waiting for them.”
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