Eight more men have been jailed for their roles in a major drug supply network that operated between the West Midlands and Leicestershire, including in Barwell and Hinckley. The sentencings, which took place at Leicester Crown Court on 1 May 2026, bring the total number of convictions from this investigation to 16.
The individuals were sentenced to a combined total of 47 years in prison for conspiring to supply cocaine. The men involved in the latest proceedings are Steven Merrick, Sean O’Farrell, Thomas Higginson, Michael York, Paul Meek, Peter Tomkowicz, Damien Haswell, and Daniel Barlow. Their prosecution follows a previous round of sentencings in April 2025, which saw eight other men jailed for more than 60 years for their involvement in the same criminal operation.
The investigation was led by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit and began in 2023. Evidence revealed a two-tier supply chain where a group based in Coventry provided wholesale quantities of cocaine to a separate group operating in Barwell and Hinckley. Police gathered evidence through phone messages, photographs of drugs, and documentation of meetings between the members, eventually charging the defendants in April 2024.
Detective Sergeant Chris Sewell stated that drug offending has huge impacts on our communities, adding that the individuals involved believed they could freely operate without being brought to account or facing responsibility for their actions. He confirmed that authorities will continue to gather intelligence and take action against those who engage in similar criminal activity.
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