THREE drug dealers in an organised crime syndicate which flooded the streets of Newport and other British cities with heroin worth £22 million were found guilty.

Harri Pullen, aged 21, of Crouch Close, Bettws, Newport, Jan Serafin, aged 27, of Greene Close, Newport and Nicholas Evans, aged 27, of Highglen Drive, Plymouth, were convicted after a trial.

They had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to supply a class A drug between April and December 2018.

A fourth man, Ryan O’Connor, aged 24, of Sullivan Circle, Newport, who had denied any involvement, was acquitted of the same charge by the jury.

Pullen, Serafin and Evans were all players involved in a conspiracy which had connected networks in Cardiff, Caerphilly, Plymouth and Gloucester.

Newport Crown Court heard how this drugs empire had its base in Liverpool and operated on an “industrial scale” throughout Wales and England.

Prosecutor Andrew Jones told the jury: “This is a case about drug dealing and the people who are involved in executing those deals.

“Drug dealing committed on a significant if not industrial scale.

“This trial focusses on the activities of two organised crime groups (OCGs) involved in the widespread supply of heroin.

“But this case is not just about these two groups as they only form part of a much wider picture – a wholesale distribution network that ran nationwide with its core based in Liverpool.”

Mr Jones added: “This nationwide consortium of OCSs controlled a significant proportion of the Newport and Plymouth drugs trade.

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“Their activities extended beyond those two areas – there were also OCGs in Cardiff, Caerphilly and Gloucester that were all part of this widespread nationwide drugs network.”

Mr Jones told the court: “An experienced drugs squad officer has estimated that those involved in this conspiracy all contributed to the sum of 232.5kg of heroin being distributed throughout the United Kingdom.

“In monetary terms, these groups and their members were responsible for putting almost £22 million pounds worth of heroin onto the streets in just over nine months.”

The prosecution claimed that Pullen and Serafin had acted as drug couriers.

Mr Jones said Evans was a “Plymouth-based drug dealer” who was “involved in furthering the criminal enterprise”.

He added: “The conspiracy covers a time frame of just over nine months. On the basis of calculations done from the number of trips to collect drugs and the amount of drugs recovered in individual seizures, the amount of drugs involved can only be described as large scale industrial drug dealing.”

Judge Richard Williams adjourned sentence to a date yet to be fixed and remanded Pullen, Serafin and Evans in custody.