Ringleader, Stanley Woods, 21, has been ordered to pay back the profit of £774,655 made through his criminal dealings.

The gang has been dismantled as part of a large-scale police operation, which has seen Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary help change the law around antique gun sales.

Woods and 17 other members of the gang were sentenced between June 2022 and January 2023 at Southampton Crown Court for their part in the conspiracy, which took place from April 2019 to December 2020.

The 18 members of the gang who received a combined 33 years and eight months in prison are:

Stanley Woods, 21, currently residing at HMP Winchester, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import/supply cannabis, being concerned in the supply of cocaine and two counts of possession of prohibited articles – namely mobile phones – in prison. Sentence: 6 years and 8 months in prison. At a separate hearing, the court determined Woods profited by £774,655 through his criminal dealings. He was ordered to pay the courts £13,401 by 23 March or his sentence will be extended, and to pay back the £774,655 throughout his life.

Alfie Davies, 19, of Primrose Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. Received 2-year suspended prison sentence.

Andrew Stoner, 22, of Eastbourne Avenue, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. Received 16-month suspended prison sentence.

Zak Blake, 21, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. Sentence: 18 months in prison.

Daniel Burnet, 25, of Hedge End, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import/supply cannabis. Sentence: 2 years in prison.

Kyle Hall, 28, of Anson Drive, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. Sentence: 2 years in prison.

Nathan Hayes, 29, of Monks Way, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. Sentence: 2 years and 9 months in prison.

Lloyd White, 34, of Denzil Avenue, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. Sentence: 2 years and 9 months in prison.

Jade Stubbs, 22, of Outer Circle, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import/supply cannabis. Sentence: 9 months in prison.

Robert Southwell, 35, of Avenue Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cannabis. Sentence: 2 years in prison.

Tracy Cornock, 37, of Witts Hill, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. Received 18-month community order.

Nathan Burton, 27, of Witts Hill, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. Received 2 months in prison, suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete 120 hours of community service.

Eduardo Nunes, 22, of Coxford Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and being concerned in the supply of MDMA. Sentence: 3 years in prison.

Tyler Williams, 22, of Priory Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis, being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and dangerous driving. Sentence: 2 years in prison and disqualified from driving for 2 years, which he has been serving while awaiting sentencing and will complete once he is released.

Daniel Sivyour, 44, of High Street, Newport, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import / supply cannabis, cultivation of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Sentence: 6 years and 6 months in prison.

Stacey Burton, 34, of Alexandra Road, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. Sentence: 3 years and 3 months in prison.

Marios Petrou, 18, of Dunbar Close, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. Ordered to complete 150 hours of community service.

Luke Stubbs, 19, of Avenue Road, Southampton, was found guilty of conspiracy to import/ supply cannabis by a jury following a trial at Southampton Crown Court in May 2022. Received 2-year suspended prison sentence.

The police investigation began in April 2019 and was led by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit.

They worked with the Border Force and other agencies to seize cannabis, which was being smuggled into the country using various postal companies and then being sold in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Dorset.

Officers seized: more than 58kilos of cannabis worth in excess of £500,000; more than £38,000 in cash; over £50,000 in cryptocurrency; five antique firearms and numerous knives, crossbows, machetes and other weapons.

Between April 2019 and November 2020, Woods was importing the drugs from Europe, Canada and the US having them sent to his address and those of his associates, including his partner Jade Stubbs and her brother Luke.

Those drugs, primarily cannabis but also MDMA and cocaine, were distributed using various runners. In an attempt to conceal the money received the proceeds were converted into Bitcoin.

On 28 October 2019, officers carried out a search warrant at Woods’ home address in Southampton and seized his mobile phone. His message history revealed his associates and the scale of the drugs supply network: the first pieces of the puzzle which officers were able to build on through further stop searches and other interventions of the individuals linked to Woods.

The police activity included the arrests of Daniel Sivyour on 8 April, 2020 and Tyler Williams and Zak Blake on 27 June, 2020 in Southampton.

Sivyour was stopped in a vehicle outside East Cowes and a large amount of cannabis was found inside. This led officers to search one of Sivyour’s properties in Springford Crescent, Southampton and they found a small cannabis farm inside. Messages on his phone revealed he had also been dealing cocaine.

Williams and Blake were in a vehicle that failed to stop for officers in The Avenue, Southampton, which led to a short police pursuit that ended with tactical contact. Cannabis, weighing scales, a mobile phone and £5,410 were seized at the time. A note with scientific analysis of the cannabis was also found which was identical to documents intercepted from other imported packages meant for Woods’ gang.

On November 17, 2021, police executed a series of search warrants resulting in the arrest of Stanley Woods and other gang members. Woods was then charged and remanded into custody.

With the vast majority pleading guilty to their crimes, Woods and his 17 associates were sentenced between June 2022 and Thursday, 26 January 2023, when Blake and Williams appeared before the judge.

During the investigation, officers discovered that Woods was exploiting a legal loophole to purchase antique guns that didn’t require a licence to own. He modified them into working firearms with parts legally purchased online.

Woods supplied firearms and drugs to his ‘employees’ and enticed children as young as 15 into his business who he armed with guns, crossbows and knives to protect the drugs sales empire he had built.

As soon as officers saw the loophole, they highlighted the case to the National Ballistics Intelligence Service who then used it as part of their submission to government, which led to a change in the law. As a result, from 22 September 2021, it became illegal for members of the public to own a variety of antique guns without a licence.

Several of these modified weapons were seized by officers in linked investigations and have now been destroyed.

When passing sentence, His Honour Judge Rowland said Woods was “fairly and squarely at the top” of the operation and praised DC Swift from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, who led the investigation, and his colleagues.

He said: “DC Swift and his team are to be commended for the painstaking work they undertook to apprehend these defendants and reveal the extent of the offending; over a million lines of data were examined.

“Little need be said about the misery caused by the supply of illegal drugs. This activity generates further crime with the interaction between criminal gangs.”

DC Swift said: “Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our officers, we have cut out an entire organised crime gang which was the root cause of so much drug related harm and serious violence in Southampton.

“Woods was once the kingpin of the operation and now he and his associates are behind bars, the city is a much safer place and their gang has been dismantled.

“This investigation has not only recovered a large amount of cannabis, it also recovered the monetary gains that Woods’ tried to hide in crypto currency.

“However, this case is about so much more than cannabis and cash – it is about tackling the violence and exploitation of vulnerable people that goes hand in hand with organised crime. This investigation has identified and removed children and vulnerable people from the drugs trade.

“We also exposed a loophole in the sale of firearms which we believe coincided with a spike in serious incidents involving guns in Southampton in 2020.

“The change in the law means that never again will criminal organisations be able to poison our communities with lethal weapons in the same way.”

Sam Bullimore, deputy director of the Air Cargo Command at Border Force, said: “Bringing down this criminal gang is the result of hard work and dedication from Border Force and the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, and is another key triumph in our work to secure the UK’s borders and prosecute those who seek to smuggle illegal drugs into the UK.

“Stopping drugs entering the UK is a core part of the government’s 10-year drug strategy to cut crime and save lives, and all those involved in this case can be proud of their outstanding efforts in preventing these illegal drugs from reaching our communities and destroying lives.”

Anyone with information about drug-related harm or weapons in their neighbourhood can contact the police on 101, report online or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on their website.