Two men who ran a cocaine operation from Dudley to the streets of Aberystwyth have been jailed following a complex police investigation.

Shaquir Tota, 24, of Dingle Road, Dudley, was sentenced to 32 months in prison after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine in Aberystwyth between 20-29 August.

Florin Ghiorghe, 28, of Buzzard Way, Penallta, was jailed for 22 months for his part in the operation, which the judge said was a lesser role.

Both men appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Friday, 23 October.

The court heard how the cocaine operation was run from Dudley with customers in Aberystwyth ordering drugs through a dedicated phone line with runners then being dispatched to make deliveries.

Police observed Ghiorghe, who is a Romanian national who entered the UK illegally in May this year, meeting several people at locations across Aberystwyth and linked him to a VW Passat parked in Devil’s Bridge, which the court heard was used as a mobile storage unit for drugs and cash.

When the car was searched, officers found 80 wraps of cocaine and around £16,000 in cash.

Officers also recovered cash and additional drugs from accommodation linked to the defendants in Aberystwyth.

Around £1,000 was found in a room occupied by Ghiorghe.

Surveillance revealed that Tota, an Albanian national, was coordinating the operation, speaking with customers and runners.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Catherine Richards, said it was clear Tota was running a profitable supply line with the expectation of financial gain and that Ghiorghe was acting on the instruction of Tota.

She sentenced Tota to 32 months in prison and Ghiorghe to 22 months in custody after concluding he had played a lesser role.

A third defendant, Mirjol Bresa, 21, of no fixed abode, Birmingham, was due to be sentenced at the same hearing but that was adjourned as he was not legally represented.

Following sentencing, Detective Sergeant Steve Jones, of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “Operation Haxted was a complex investigation targeting a well-established organised crime group responsible for supplying class A drugs in Aberystwyth.

“Despite their best attempts to avoid being caught - using hire vehicles, meeting in discreet rural locations and keeping the drugs in a separate, unoccupied vehicle – our dedicated team diligently followed their tracks, seized the drugs, cash, and put the three criminals before the courts.

“I’d like to thank local residents for proactively reporting suspicious activity to us, which ultimately led to Op Haxted being stood up. This operation highlights the importance of the public reporting concerns to us, and our responsibility to act on those reports.

“I’d also like to thank colleagues at West Mercia Police for their assistance throughout this operation that has seen these serious criminals held to account for their actions.

“The dismantling of this group is a significant result not just for us as police, but for the wider Aberystwyth community who deserve to live in an area free of drugs and its associated criminality.”