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The boss of an organised crime gang that flooded Swansea with heroin and cocaine bombarded customers who owed him money with terrifying messages.

Paul Hickman, the man behind the drug peddling operation which ferried "wholesale quantities" of class A drugs to Swansea , was jailed for 12 years on Friday.

His second-in-command, Joseph Jones, was also jailed for eight years for his involvement after being caught in North Wales with a quarter of a kilo of high purity cocaine and half a kilo of Benzocaine last May.

The Liverpool Echo has revealed the disturbing text messages Hickman, of Aigburth, Liverpool, sent to his Welsh customers who owed him money.

(Image: trinity)

One message, sent to a user in North Wales in June 2018, read: "Make sure this [a drugs debt] is paid today. No more bull **** texts and phone calls to them.

"I want my money, you don't have to wait for the car sale, you have other places to get it, I have used the time, you’ve been lying, to find out."

"TODAY there will be no more talk.”

Hours later he armed himself with a gun before watching police pursue him in a high-speed chase which came to an end when his BMW flipped onto its roof.

(Image: merpol)

(Image: merpol)

Operation Banjo, set up by Merseyside Police, led to secret surveillance of the gang for eight months between January and August 2018.

Prosecutor Ben Jones told Liverpool Crown Court it was a "county lines" type operation, with drugs sourced in Merseyside before being distributed through to lower-level street dealers, mostly in Swansea.

Police followed the gang on six journeys between Liverpool and Swansea and at least three ounces of cocaine, half a kilo of heroin powder and a kilo of cutting agent was siezed.

They observed how the cutting of drugs took place in Liverpool before being transported to Swansea in wholesale quantities to be divided and bagged.

Throughout the period, Hickman used at least 10 graft phones, changing them after key arrests, and Jones is seen to change his phone four times.

The tactic of "cuckooing" was also used in the conspiracies with dealer Luke Donoghue moving into Thomas Evans' home in Swansea to conduct street deals and to report back home to Hickman.

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In another series of texts, Hickman messaged Jones, ordering him: "Get texts out on that Swansea one [phone] all the time till people[customers] come back."

Prosecutors said this was a "reference to resuming their disrupted street dealing operation in Swansea, with Jones being directed to get out drug flare messages in the city to previous customers."

(Image: merpol)

One of Hickman's customers was so scared of him that he offered to sell his most prized possessions - including his dog - to avoid any violent reprisals.

The customer messaged: "Yo lad, tell u the truth I f****** up man.

"I ain't got no money, I still got the 3 oz [ounces] of the w.

"But no dark [drugs] or cash, but I'll sell my bike and dogs and get the money.

"I have f****ed up with money, but only way I can pay debt back is to keep grafting [working], so tell P [Hickman] that.”

(Image: trinity) (Image: merpol)

Three other gang members were previously jailed at Swansea Crown Court. They are:

22-year-old Luke Donoghue, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and previously received three years in prison at Swansea Crown Court

47-year-old Wayne Fanning, of Prospect Vale, Tuebrook pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine and was jailed for six years

60-year-old Paul Kinsey, of St Clears Place, Penlan, Swansea pleaded guilty to possession with intent to Supply Class A controlled drugs and was previously sentenced to five years and 10 months in custody.

(Image: South Wales Police)

Speaking on Friday, prosecutor Ben Jones said: "This was a well organised operation sourcing wholesale quantities of drugs, the quantities seized might be described as mid-market.

"Significant efforts were made to avoid detection with the threat of force clear from text messages."

Hickman is currently serving a five years and three months sentence after a gun was found in his crashed BMW, meaning he is now effectively starting a 17 year stretch behind bars.