Named: 3 dealers who sold heroin and cocaine in Loughborough

Three people have been sentenced after admitting their roles in a county town's cocaine and heroin market.

The two men and a woman appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday and were given suspended prison sentences for their roles in the drugs scene in Loughborough.

They were arrested by Leicestershire Police as part of Operation Lionheart, which was launched earlier this year to target drug dealers across the city and county.

So far, more than 100 people have been arrested and a number of cases have since hit the courts.

On Wednesday, Kacper Ogrodnik, of Harvest Close, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, was given a 20 month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

The 18-year-old was sentenced after pleading guilty to four drug supply offences in December 2018 and again in April this year.

When officers searched Ogrodnik before arresting him he attempted to discard seven wraps of class A drugs, police said.

Jack Godkin, (23) of Toothill Road, Loughborough, admitted selling heroin during a drug deal in the Rockingham Road area of the town in November last year.

He was given a 16 month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to the offence at a hearing last month.

The third defendant, 22-year-old Jasmine Hughes, of Regent Street, Loughborough admitted three counts of supplying a class A drug on two occasions in August last year.

She had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a class B drugs – after cannabis was found in her flat when she was arrested.

She was given an 18 month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

LeicestershireLive reported earlier this month that the operation has uncovered evidence that crime gangs in cities including London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Coventry have infiltrated the Leicestershire drugs market .

Previously the force has warned that crime gangs are moving youngsters in and out of the city and county to sell drugs for them - the practice of exploiting young people in this way is known as 'county lines'.

Also on Wednesday, a fourth defendant, Mark Jackson, also appeared at the crown court and pleaded guilty to eight offences.

Jackson, of West Golds Way, Newton Abbot, Devon, admitted two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, possession with intent to supply class B drugs, two counts of possessing criminal property, one count of possessing a bladed article and one count of handling stolen goods.

The 40-year-old is due to be sentenced on Friday, August 2.