Bristol drugs gang facing prison

A dangerous Bristol drugs gang who had an arsenal of deadly weapons are facing decades behind bars.

Former judo Olympian and teacher James Waithe has been found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine with ring-leader Craig Rodel, Grant Richmond, Luke Downes and Robert Brooks.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court deliberated for more than 10 hours before deciding the 47-year-old had allowed his flat in Highridge to be transformed into a Class A drugs factory capable of making as much as £1 million in profit every week.

The verdict brings to an end the gang's domination of Bristol's criminal underworld – an empire that netted an estimated £50 million.

When police were called to a burglary in June last year at flat 7, 79 Highridge Green they found a 10-tonne press, cocaine, cutting agents and digital scales.

In a bedroom, they were shocked to discover three military-issue stun grenades, four rifles, five handguns, a shotgun and numerous rounds of ammunition, which were used to protect the gang's drugs empire and strike fear into rivals and debtors.

Throughout his trial alongside Brooks, Waithe has denied knowing there were drugs and weapons in the flat he rented out to Rodel for £2,000 per week.

The jury was due to continue its deliberations today on whether he is guilty of six firearms offences, having cleared him yesterday of possessing an explosive substance.

Brooks, however, was found guilty of possessing the grenades and cleared of six other firearms offences, having admitted the drugs conspiracy.

Rodel, 46, of Wexford Road, Knowle West; Richmond, 29, of Long Cross, Lawrence Weston; and Downes, 22, of Pevensey Walk, Knowle, all admitted being involved in the drug conspiracy and Rodel and Richmond also admitted firearms offences.

Avon and Somerset police's Atrium unit, which is dedicated to tackling drug dealers, spent more than a year gathering evidence against the gang, including more than 500 exhibits and more than 150 statements.

Key evidence in the trial was heard from heroin addict Richmond, who turned supergrass by testifying against his former associates.

He told how he would help the firm "cut" and distribute cocaine and on Sundays they would count the bundles of cash they had raked in, netting weekly sums as high as £900,000.

Nicknamed The Rat, kingpin Rodel had served in the Navy from 1980 to 1989, where he developed his enthusiasm for guns and explosives.

The gang's success flourished after the Pearce family – who had previously dominated the drug scene in the south of the city – were locked up in 2007.

Rodel had worked with them, but with the family behind bars, he saw a business opportunity and exploited it.

He liked to have two drug set-ups running at the same time and moved them around the city regularly.

In one chilling episode, Rodel ordered Richmond and an accomplice to put two shots into a Hartcliffe house using a sawn-off shotgun.

The jury heard 6th Dan judo black belt Waithe was the "enforcer" who made sure debts were paid by using extreme violence and even torture. He competed for Barbados in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, represented England in the Commonwealth Games and taught PE and citizenship at Withywood Community School and Bristol Gateway Special School.

Brooks, 63, was the driver who brought much of the cocaine – bought for about £33,000 per kilo – down to Bristol from Liverpool.

He is already in prison for four-and-a-half years after setting up a drugs operation in High Street, Weston-super-Mare.

Like Richmond, Downes was a drugs courier who would transport the cut cocaine to various dealers in the city to peddle to addicts on the streets. It is thought the gang also supplied as many as 200,000 ecstasy tablets.

UPDATE 3pm Friday

James Waithe has been found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

The jury found him not guilty of five other firearms offences.