A DRUGS gang boss who led a £2.9 million conspiracy to flood the streets of South Wales with heroin, cocaine and cannabis was jailed for 18 years.

Jonathon James, 31, of Fenner Brockway Close, Newport, thought he was "untouchable" while using his encrypted EncroChat mobile phone to direct operations.

He was involved in a plan to bring 29kg of cocaine, 4kg of heroin and 20kg of cannabis into Gwent and the surrounding area.

Roger Griffiths, prosecuting, said James played a “leading role” and had previous convictions for trafficking class A drugs.

The defendant was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis in 2020.

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Mark Wyeth QC, mitigating, said his client’s aunt had been coming to support the defendant during the trial and told him about a “head trauma” he suffered as a teenager.

His barrister told the court: “She shared with me that when Mr James was 14, he was on the top deck of a bus in central Newport, turning on George Street, and he fell out of a top window and sustained a nasty injury.

South Wales Argus:

Some of the drugs recovered by Gwent Police during their investigation

“He was taken to hospital and had a CT scan but it was his aunt’s perception that this changed his personality in some way.

“Whether that head trauma was completely linked, there’s no medical evidence, but she says he started to make bad choices.

“He comes from a very good family and is a good father.”

Judge David Wynn Morgan told James: “These were conspiracies, agreements, to bring significant quantities of drugs into South Wales.

South Wales Argus:

Cannabis recovered during the police probe into James

“This case is typical of many such cases being dealt with by these courts at present.

“Individuals, potentially, make large sums of money at the expense of importing misery and degradation into the local community.

“This filthy trade brings with it concomitant risks and consequences.

“Those risks were, for a time, reduced by the employment of encrypted mobile telephones.

You are a very bad man

“Once the encrypted material was in the hands of the police, and after a good deal of solid detection work for which the Gwent Constabulary drugs team is to be commended, your identity was discovered.

“The consequences for you are a lengthy prison sentence.”

The judge added: “Mr James, you are a very bad person. A very bad person indeed.”

“The highest value placed upon the drugs involved in this case is £2.9m.

“That is obviously not a sum which you were ever going to receive but it’s an indication of the drugs that were being discussed, traded and in the end brought into South Wales.”

After the court case, Detective Inspector Ian Bartholomew, the senior investigating officer, said: “James is an established and prolific drug supplier; he trafficked more than 29 kilograms of cocaine, four kilograms of heroin and 20 kilograms of cannabis into Gwent over a two-month period.

“He was profiting from an illegal trade that often leads to other forms of criminal activity and can cause harm and misery within our communities.

“By using EncroChat technology he believed that he was untouchable.

“Our detectives – working as part of the national Operation Venetic – have pursued individuals like James who have used bespoke encrypted mobile devices to conduct illicit activities at the highest level of serious and organised crime.

“We were able to gather a raft of overwhelming evidence against James which showed his significant role in supplying drugs. Despite this, he still opted to plead not guilty.

“This very significant sentence has not only taken a career criminal off the streets for a substantial period of time but also highlights our commitment to disrupting serious and organised crime groups in our force area and beyond.”