Gang members jailed for flooding Wrexham with 'zombie' drug Spice

Mastermind Joshua Partyka, 26, also admitted spraying a liquid form of the drug – sometimes called Mamba – onto pictures of motorcycles with the intention of posting them undetected into prisons.

He appeared at Mold Crown Court alongside his three accomplices and was jailed for a total of six years.

Lorna Jones received a two-year suspended sentence. Image: North Wales Police

“Front man” James Dunn, 42, known locally as James Mamba as he knew all Spice addicts in the area, was locked up for two years and eight months.

Danny Jones, 20, said to be Partyka’s “right hand man”, was given two years in a young offenders’ institute.

His sister and Partyka’s partner, Lorna Jones, 26, was the only defendant to avoid immediate custody as she looks after a five-year-old child.

Police found drugs in the shed/office at a property in Churton Drive, Wrexham

Described as “the banker” in the organisation, her two-year sentence was suspended for two years.

The case came to court following a detailed investigation by North Wales Police whose work was praised by Judge Rhys Rowlands.

The gang operated from a shed in the garden of a property on Churton Drive, which had been converted into a factory, office, store room and shop for their Spice-dealing enterprise.

Commenting on the press reports and TV broadcasts showing Spice users slumped or passed out in Wrexham, the judge said: “It’s not just discomforting for ordinary people, it’s also very, very frightening to see people in this state, effectively as zombies, in the middle of the town centre.

“It’s putting people off going there.”

Anna Pope, prosecuting, read from submissions made by both Wrexham Council and HMP Liverpool.

Image of the shed where spice operation was based

The council reported cases of crime and anti-social behaviour had soared since Spice became so readily available, sparking numerous complaints from businesses and residents.

And the prison service noted that attacks on guards, criminal damage, bullying and general violence had increased due to drugs being smuggled inside.

“In recent years it [Spice] has had a huge effect on the community of Wrexham,” Miss Pope told the court.

Drugs recovered from shed, above and below

All four defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a class B drug in an operation said to have run from August 2015 to December 2017.

Police had been monitoring activities around the house and noticed “a huge number of visitors entering the address for shorts periods of time,” Miss Pope said.

Officers observed deals carried out by Dunn and launched their first raid on August 16, 2017, recovering mobile phones, cash and almost £10,000 worth of cocaine.

It was discovered that Lorna Jones, of Churton Drive, had deposited around £25,000 into her bank account.

“This was at a time when she was unemployed and on benefits,” Miss Pope told the court.

During a subsequent search of Partyka’s home, officers found a stack of paper and motorbike pictures next to a printer in his bedroom.

“A liquid form of Spice had been sprayed onto the paper,” said Miss Pope, who estimated the street value to be between £1,100 and £3,740. The paper was to be mailed into prisons.

All four were arrested and gave “no comment” interviews but had a “change of heart” and pleaded guilty at later court hearings.

At two preliminary appearances Danny Jones was found with cannabis in his possession while standing in the court dock.

The judge ordered all money seized in raids connected to the drugs enterprise be forfeited – a total in excess of £15,300.

None of the defendants had previous convictions for supplying drugs, although all apart from Lorna Jones had a criminal record.

Defending Partyka, Philip Tully tried to argue that the operation was not a sophisticated or commercial one – a suggestion not accepted by Judge Rowlands.

He also stressed his client had only pleaded guilty to intent to supply Spice into prisons and there was no evidence of actual supply.

Partyka, of Goodwood Grove, Wrexham, also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a class A drug, in relation to the cocaine found in the first police raid. He has 12 previous convictions for 24 offences.

Mr Tully said: “He accepts what he did was wrong and he accepts he deserves to be punished.”

Barrister Charlotte Kenny, defending Danny and Lorna Jones, stressed both had admitted their guilt and urged leniency for Lorna, who has a young child to look after.

As part of her suspended sentence, Lorna Jones must complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and abide by a 9pm-6am curfew for 10 months.

Referring to Danny, of Moorland Avenue, Wrexham, she said: “It would appear he stepped into the world of drugs as a consequence of his own addiction to cannabis."

Danny Jones has two previous convictions for eight offences.

Steven Edwards, defending Dunn, said his client had been a drug user for almost 20 years and addicted to Spice for the past 18 months.

A father of two teenage sons with a long-term partner, he lost his sister to drugs but continued to take them to the point where he now has clots on his legs due to intravenous use. He has 58 previous convictions for 116 offences.

Dunn, of Churton Drive, was recruited by his then neighbour Partyka as a street dealer and delivery man.

Mr Edwards told the court: “He was often referred to as ‘James Mamba’. Not only was he a Spice addict, he was well known to most, if not all, of the street users in Wrexham.”

Friends and family of the four gang members wished them well as they were taken down.