Scouse Dave county lines drug gang pair jailed

Two more members of a drugs supply network known as Scouse Dave have been jailed.

The Liverpool-based county lines gang peddled crack cocaine and heroin in Gosport and Plymouth, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.

On Friday, Paul Naughton, 30, of no fixed address, was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs.

Brett Coe-Quainton, 26, of Gale Moor Avenue in Gosport, was sentenced to eight years and four months for the same drugs offences, as well as stalking involving fear of violence, burglary and a breach of a previous sentence.

A third defendant, Kevin Wealthal, 57, of Little Chilworth in Gosport, who also pleaded guilty to the drugs charges, received a two-year suspended sentence and a four-month tagged curfew.

From January 2022 to March 2023, the Scouse Dave gang sold at least 25kg (55lb) of crack cocaine and heroin in Gosport and about 9.6kg (21lb) in Plymouth, police said.

The Hampshire drugs line operated for a number of years, overseen by gang members from Merseyside.

The conspirators then took cash back to Liverpool where the "whole operation ran like a business – people worked and were paid a wage, before going home to see their families", according to officers.

Detectives said targeting Gosport suppliers led them to arrest the two brothers who led the gang.

Anthony and Brian Siner, both from Liverpool, were jailed at the same court earlier this year.

Anthony Siner ran heroin and crack cocaine through Gosport, police said.

His brother Brian controlled the Plymouth line from prison, where he was serving a 14-year sentence for previous drugs supply offences, officers added.

A total of 14 gang members have been sentenced, with three more due in court at a later date.

Police said their operations in Devon, Hampshire and Merseyside led to the seizure of four kilograms (8.8lb) of drugs, more than £30,000 in cash and several weapons.

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