Two men have been jailed for their leading roles in County Lines drug dealing in Chester.

Nathan Ashcroft, 24, from Belfast Road, Liverpool and James Delacruz, 26, from Long Lane, Garston, Liverpool appeared at Chester Crown Court on 27 January to be sentenced.

Ashcroft was found guilty at an earlier hearing of conspiring to supply a Class A controlled drug (heroin) and conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug (crack cocaine). He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Delacruz admitted participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

In 2022, detectives from Western Proactive CID were investigating drug dealing in Chester when they identified a mobile phone connected to the criminal activity.The phone was then linked to Ashcroft and Delacruz. From the detectives enquires they established that Ashcroft was playing a leading role and Delacruz had a significant role in a County Lines group.They discovered that Delacruz and Ashcroft were both frequenting the Chester area when drug dealing was occurring and that they were controlling others who were selling drugs for them through the mobile phone between 31 December 2021 and 7 June 2022.

DS Roy Wellings said: “These men played a significant role in County Lines drug dealing in Chester and our evidence clearly showed their connection to those who were dealing Class A drugs.“This was a complicated and painstaking investigation which resulted in taking key players out of the game. This really is a great achievement for our team and I’d like to thank them for their hard work and determination.“I hope this reassures residents that we are doing everything we can to deter criminal activity and disrupt the supply of illegal drugs.”