Overview

• Newport Crown Court jailed four men for roles in an industrial-scale Class A supply ring: Nathan Jones for 18 years, Robert Andrews for 14 years and eight months, Rahail Mehrban for 10 years and nine months, and Samuel Takahashi for eight years.
• Court evidence said the conspiracy ran from March to December 2023 and involved 85kg of cocaine, with Andrews’ own records also noting 22kg of heroin and a wholesale value exceeding £2 million.
• Investigators cited a tick-list spreadsheet showing payments including nearly £650,000 in one update, £1.1 million paid for 50kg supplied by Jones, and physical seizures such as 3kg of cocaine and £109,400 in cash.
• Prosecutors identified Jones as a key supplier, Mehrban as a courier who delivered 25kg valued at about £593,750, and Takahashi as a broker linking Andrews to a local dealer; a taxi driver courier was caught with high-purity cocaine in May 2023.
• The judge said the trade fuels misery, the defendants will serve half their terms in custody before licence, and they now face proceeds-of-crime hearings with applications lodged for serious crime prevention orders.