Stanton Clay, from North Shields, was arrested coming through the Tyne Tunnel in May last year carrying two kilos of cocaine

Northumbria Police set out to infiltrate and dismantle a major cocaine syndicate which had connections from Tyneside to Merseyside.This £100,000 haul of high-grade cocaine was seized as part of their racket before it was distributed on the region’s streets.Five members of the gang were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court following Operation Skopie – a probe into drug dealing and money laundering.
The investigation was launched after Stanton Clay, from North Shields, was arrested coming through the Tyne Tunnel in May last year carrying two kilos of cocaine worth between £80,000 and £100,000.Clay was subsequently convicted of conspiring to supply class A drugs and jailed for four years on April 11.Police officers uncovered evidence which linked Clay to criminals involved in trafficking class A drugs from Merseyside to North Tyneside.
Gang leader Anthony Goicoechea was using his sandwich bar, Cafe 34, as a cover.
During raids at Rennington Close, Cullercoats, and a nearby rented garage, officers recovered 1.3 kilos of cocaine worth more than £75,000. They also discovered scales, self-sealing bags, a debtors list and mobile phones.Detective Chief Inspector Tim Walker, of the force’s Crime Operations section of the Crime Department, said: “These individuals represented organised crime. They were involved in the distribution of hard drugs throughout the North Tyneside area. The sentencing today sends out a very clear message that people who harm our communities will be pursued by the police and dealt with by the courts.”The gang’s crime base for manufacturing the narcotics was smashed, including a cocaine-press, which was uncovered in a house.
Now the men from North Tyneside, and one from Liverpool, have been jailed after admitting their parts in the supply or money laundering from the profits of drugs.
Operation Skopie led to raids in December. Links were also made to an address in Bootle, Liverpool, where officers found the cocaine press as part of a sophisticated set-up to process the illicit haul.The men had been charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and were due to go to trial, but all pleaded guilty to other drugs-related charges at Newcastle Crown Court.
Howard Harrison, 26, of Ayres Terrace, North Shields, admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs at an earlier hearing. He was locked up for three and a half years.
Steven Taylor, 25, of Rennington Close, Cullercoats, also pleaded guilty to supplying earlier on in the court process. He was sentenced to four and a half years.
Stephen Smith, 20, of Sunley Avenue, Cullercoats, admitted two counts of supplying cocaine. He was given a 12-month jail term suspended for two years, plus 100 hours of unpaid work.
Anthony Giocoechea, 27, of Newington Drive, North Shields, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years after he admitted money laundering and his brother, Darren Giocoechea, 22, of Knotts Flats, Tynemouth, admitted five counts of supplying and money laundering and was jailed for two years.
Robert Speakman, 40, of Liverpool, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to supplying 2kg of cocaine after being caught on May 22 last year. He was given 300 hours of community service and a three-year supervision order.
Stanton Clay, in his 50s, from North Shields, was also arrested on that date in possession of 2kg of cocaine with intent to supply, and was given four years’ imprisonment.A total of nine suspects were initially arrested and taken in for questioning.
Northumbria Police last month revealed a tough purge on drugs criminals during one week in May led to 93 arrests and more than £200,000 of drugs recovered. During a range of strikes for National Tackling Drugs Week, the force seized 1,062 cannabis plants, confiscated 14 weapons and shut down 10 cannabis farms.