Five members of an organized crime group responsible for trafficking over 70 kilograms of heroin, with an estimated street value of £7 million, have been sentenced to a total of 57 years and 2 months at Cardiff Crown Court.
The defendants were brought before the court following an extensive investigation known as Operation Solon, led by Tarian, the Regional Organized Crime Unit for southern Wales. The operation began on May 12, 2022, when police requested the arrest of Steven Creasey, a former police officer and Royal Navy member, who was stopped while driving to Fife. He had already traveled from Cardiff to Liverpool and was found with 5 kilograms of heroin, 1 kilogram of adulterant, and a burner phone linked to other group members.
The investigation revealed that Creasey served as a courier for a Liverpool-based organized crime group (OCG), led by Christopher Brannan and Stephen Hopkins. They would acquire large quantities of heroin and distribute them across the UK through Creasey and others, including Kevin Thomson, Christopher Heaney, and Jeffrey Hickson. The proceeds were laundered through Brannan’s partner, Kirsty Murphy’s bank account.
Enforcement operations coordinated by Tarian in late 2022 were executed across Cardiff, Liverpool, Anstruther, Lochgelly, and Blyth, resulting in the discovery of expensive jewelry, heroin, cocaine, adulterants, opium, cannabis grows, and metal molds for pressing drugs into blocks.
All five defendants pleaded guilty before trial. Christopher Brannan, 38, of Walton, Liverpool, was sentenced to 18 years and 5 months for conspiracy to supply heroin on December 16, 2022.