Nottingham Drug Lords Busted in Massive Class A Crackdown
More than a dozen dealers in Nottinghamshire were caught up in a huge police bust after flooding the streets with over 10 kilos of Class A drugs. Cocaine and heroin from across the UK were sold on the streets during a seven-month crime spree.
Kinsella and Eastwood Gangs Exposed
The infamous “Kinsella” and “Eastwood” organised crime groups ran the lucrative operation, peddling vast amounts of cocaine and heroin across Nottinghamshire. Between November 2019 and April 2020, the Kinsella gang bought cocaine in bulk from northern and southern England, distributing it to local dealers — including the Eastwood crew.
The Eastwood group, led by brothers Daniel, Lee, and Dominic Wright alongside Adam Rhodes, dealt drugs all over Eastwood and Broxtowe, sourcing heroin from multiple regions. The Kinsella group’s bosses were Michael Kinsella and Jeffery Bradwell.
Police Sting Cracks the Network Wide Open
Using encrypted communications to evade detection, the gangs operated until the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) launched a thorough investigation. The first arrests came on 17 January 2020 with drug couriers Nigel Sisson and Dale Wright caught with four kilos of heroin in a car returning from Cardiff.
Police soon uncovered a £423,000 cash haul in a car from Liverpool and arrested driver Ashley Hook, who worked for the Kinsella gang. In March and April 2020, further raids netted kilos of cocaine and cash, including arrests of key players Lewis Kelly, Atif Shariff, Jamie Moore, and Fred Carvalho.
The mounting police pressure forced Kinsella and Bradwell to halt operations in April 2020, but the Eastwood gang kept up until further arrests, including a heroin courier Wayne Shipman caught in May, completely dismantled the syndicate.
Heavy Sentences for Nottingham’s Drug Barons
A total of 18 conspirators faced Nottingham Crown Court, where all but five pleaded guilty to drug supply conspiracy. The jury found the remaining five guilty after a lengthy trial. Sentences handed down on 30 March 2023 totaled a whopping 166 years behind bars.
- Michael Kinsella, 36, jailed 12 years 8 months
- Jeffery Bradwell, 35, sentenced to 11 years 4 months
- Daniel Wright, 36, 11 years 4 months
- Lee Wright, 39, 11 years 4 months
- Adam Rhodes, 34, 10 years
- David Bowen, 51 (London), 10 years 8 months
- Fred Carvalho, 41 (London), 5 years 8 months
- Michael Sirrell, 37, 15 years
- Atif Shariff, 35 (Clapham), 8 years 3 months
- Ashley Hook, 40 (Essex), 13 years
- Nigel Sisson, 35 (Derbyshire), 7 years
- Dominic Wright, 34, 12 years
- Lewis Kelly, 30, 8 years 8 months
- Jamie Moore, 32, 7 years
- Keilan Harrison, 22, 5 years 8 months
- Wayne Shipman, 40, 6 years
- Dale Wright, 42, 7 years 2 months
- John Wells, 47 (Liverpool), 3 years 4 months
Detective Inspector Mark Adas said: “These two organised crime groups worked together to become a major distribution arm of a drug dealing enterprise with reach across the country, sending tens of thousands of pounds-worth of harmful substances into communities across Nottinghamshire and beyond.
“They were dealing in substantial quantities of potent class A drugs and large sums of cash at any one time – a scale of criminality that often brings with it violence and misery for the communities in which they operate.
“By using an encrypted communications platform to coordinate their illicit activity, they thought they were going undetected, but when the EncroChat platform was taken down by law enforcement, the full scale of their offending was laid bare.
“This is only the first part of our action against these gangs. Next up, is seeking prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to ensure they do not benefit by a single penny from their crimes.”
