TWO people from Teignbridge have been sentenced for their parts in a conspiracy to supply drugs into the South West.

Jacqueline Clark, 56, was sentenced to two years in jail and Ian Johnson, 53, for one year and 50 weeks in prison, both suspended for two years, when they appeared at Exeter Crown Court on Friday, February 27.

Clark, of Penny Meadow Road, Bridford, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to supply cannabis and Possession with Intent to Supply MDMA and was convicted of conspiring to supply cocaine and possessing cannabis resin with intent to supply it.

Johnson, of Cranesbill Way, Newton Abbot, was convicted of conspiring with his co-defendants to supply cannabis, possession of a prohibited weapon, namely a .22 Colt Rimfire Revolver.

He was also convicted on two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice relating to incidents in June 2020 and September 2023.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of ammunition for a firearm.

The majority of the charges relate to incidents between January 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020.

A third conspirator, Stephen Wills, 37, was previously jailed for nine years by Judge Stephen Climie at Exeter Crown Court on March 13, 2025, which was later increased following an appeal by the prosecution to the Court of Appeal on June 6, 2025 to 14 Years for his role in another case.

Wills, of West End Road, Buckfastleigh, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to supply cocaine, conspiring to supply cannabis, possession of ammunition for a firearm and possession of a firearm, both when prohibited to do so and possession of a prohibited, automatic, weapon, and was sentenced as part of the hearing in March 2025.

The court heard that on Friday 1 May 2020 soon after 11am, Wills was stopped while driving a white Nissan Navara on the A38 near Ivybridge, Devon

The vehicle was searched, and 1kg of gun powder, and other component parts of ammunition were located within it. A fixed blade knife was also located in his glovebox.

Wills was arrested and a search was carried out of his home address at Bridford.

As the search was underway, Johnson arrived at the Bridford location in possession of a small handgun, which he claimed was decommissioned. Ammunition, as well as was items connected to growing cannabis, were found in his vehicle.

Subsequent testing of the handgun identified that it was a fully operational S5 firearm, and 38 bullets seized from his vehicle could be used in this weapon.

Johnson was arrested at his home address on the 6 May for this offence. A search of his home and business address located further ammunition and firearm parts.

Further searches located a number of weapons, including a semi-automatic American army assault rifle, a shotgun and two rifles, as well as ammunition.

Another building at Bridford contained a young but sophisticated cannabis grow where there were 24 and the lighting and fan systems were fully operational.

Evidence at the scene linked both Wills and Johnson to it.

Just over a kilo of cocaine was found at the site with a street value of £84,560, together with two sets of scales and a vacuum pressing machine.

Also arriving at the Bridford address on 1 May was Clark, whose home address nearby was also searched.

This search found more than a kilo of cannabis with a street value of nearly £10,000 and two blocks of cannabis resin with a street value over £500.

Johnson was also convicted of two offences of perverting the course of justice.

On 22 June 2020 and again on 25 September 2023, he claimed to have received threatening text messages purporting to be from other conspirators – the jury found these to be false claims and that on the second occasion he had purchased the phone from which the message was sent himself and had possession of the phone at the time the message was sent.

This was done in order to try to support his false claim that he had been pressured to become involved in the cannabis grow and to obtain the handgun.

Sitting at a hearing at Exeter Crown Court on Friday 27 February, Judge Anna Richardson sentenced Clark to two years in jail, suspended for two years and ordered her to do 15 rehabilitative activity days, with other sentences to be served concurrently.

She sentenced Johnson to one year and 50 weeks in jail, suspended for two years and ordered him to do 30 rehabilitative activity days, with other sentences to be served concurrently.

Detective Superintendent Ben Davies said: ‘This was a complex and large-scale investigation into the supply of large quantities of Class A and B drugs within the region and the possession of a number of illegally held lethal firearms.

‘I commend the professionalism and dedication of Devon and Cornwall Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit for the lengths they have gone to ensuring that the organised crime group were identified, arrested and convicted and the removal of drugs and firearms from our streets.

‘This investigation started during the national Covid pandemic which brought challenging conditions to both the teams and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

‘I thank the CPS and those working within the Complex Case Unit for their continued support in making our communities across the region safer.

‘As a force, we will continue to pursue organised crime groups to protect the communities they target.

‘If anyone sees any drug-dealing activity, they can report it with confidence to the police or Crimestoppers so that it can be investigated and stopped, and those involved brought to justice’.