Two Penarth men who were part of an organised crime gang in South Wales have been jailed for drug offences. 

Ryan Hales, 28 and Max Smith, 25, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday (June 20) with five other members of the gang for sentencing. 

Mr Hales was sentenced to 11 years and three months, and Mr Smith was sentenced to five years and three months. 

Officers from Tarian, the regional organised crime unit, collected the evidence needed to dismantle the gang from encrypted drug deal chats and uncovered a large-scale drug dealing business worth nearly £5 million. 

Chats on the dark web about purchasing and importing firearms and silencers were also uncovered and a number of those involved were in possession of loaded firearms and ammunition. 

The firearms and ammunition were forensically linked to Jay Abdul, 39, from Barry, whereby fingerprints and DNA were found on the items. 

Earlier this year, a man was sentenced to seven and a half years for possessing a Section 5 prohibited firearm. 

Intelligence suggested he was storing it on behalf of Abdul and, following a forensic examination, Abdul's DNA was located on the magazine of the gun. 

Operation Dorado, the investigation into the trafficking of Class A and B drugs in South Wales, estimated the amount of drugs trafficked by the gang from the seizures during the investigation and the chat evidence as: 

Cocaine – 70 kilos (£3,500,000) 

Heroin – 30 kilos (£960,000) 

Amphetamine – 96 kilos (£384,000) 

Cannabis – 19 kilos (£98,800) 

Total = £4,942,800 

Other members of the gang present at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday for sentencing were: 

Jay Abdul, 39, of Barry, was sentenced to 19 years and six months for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs and firearm offences. 

Aysha Ali, 36, of Birmingham, was sentenced to four years and six months for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs. 

Neesha Ali, 40, of Cathays, was sentenced to three years and nine months for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs. 

Marc Harris, 31, of Barry, was sentenced to seven years and four months for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs. 

Naisha Hembury, 35, of Barry, was sentenced to 22 months suspended for 18 months for piracy to supply Class A and B drugs. 

Detective Inspector Gareth Grant of Tarian, said: "The safeguarding of our communities will always be our priority. 

"Whilst the seizure of the firearms during this investigation is very disturbing, I want to reassure people that guns like this are, thankfully, very unusual here in South Wales. 

"Such was the weight of evidence against the majority of these defendants they that he had no option but to enter guilty pleas. This is down to the hard work and dedication of my investigation team. 

"The success of this investigation demonstrates that we will relentlessly pursue those involved in large-scale criminality to ensure effective justice is sought against such individuals and they are brought to justice."