Three men, who were part of an organised crime group which sold illegal drugs throughout south and west Wales, have been jailed for a total of 23 years after an 18-month long investigation.

Operation Formby was an investigation conducted by South Wales Police Force Intelligence & Organised Crime Unit into the drug trafficking activities of Daniel Baker and his crime gang.

Baker, aged 30 from Sandfields, Port Talbot, was the head of the gang involved in trafficking Class A Cocaine and Class B Ketamine throughout the South Wales region, as well as in Oxfordshire.

Baker was arrested at his home address on August 18, 2021, where he was found in possession of a significant quantity of Class B Ketamine, a firearm and over £44,000 cash.

The investigation revealed that Baker had been supplying Cocaine since at least 2016 and had been using various individuals to collect debts on his behalf. He also used other people to collect and courier the drugs for him, and supply both cocaine and ketamine on his behalf.

Baker and his gang were proven to have supplied 1kg of Cocaine between 2015 and 2018 and a further 9kg between May 2021 and August 2021. The 10 kilograms of Cocaine would have had an estimated street value of between £1.1 million and £1.4 million.

The co-defendants convicted in the conspiracy were Steven Hughes, age 46, from Abercynon and Mark Lapper, age 41, from East Hanney, Oxfordshire.

The three appeared at Swansea Crown Court today (Monday 9 May, 2022).

Daniel Baker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A cocaine, possession with intent to supply class B Ketamine and possession of a s.5 Firearm. Baker was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Steven Hughes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A cocaine and possession of class B cannabis. Hughes was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Mark Lapper pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A cocaine. Lapper was sentenced to 3 years in prison.