MEMBERS of an organised crime gang who flooded the streets of Bournemouth with high-grade cocaine have been jailed.

Drugs worth a total of £404,000 on the streets were seized by police at the end of a year-long investigation into the gang, all of whom live in Bournemouth or Poole.

At the heart of the group was Aaron Robinson, now 30, who hired a so-called 'debt collector' to threaten a low-level drug dealer when funds went unpaid. The dealer, who lives in Blandford, was allegedly told his fingers would be cut off and he would be tortured and killed.

When he was being followed by plain-clothes police officers, Robinson, of Brazier Close in Bournemouth, was overheard in a pub warning his subordinate Michael Scott: "You're not seriously telling me that.

"I can make you suffer."

A girlfriend of one of the gang members told her mum in a series of text messages that Robinson "said he'd boot the [front] door down". The criminals also alerted each other when Robinson lost his temper, texting that he'd "gone mad".

He ran two companies, CR Cars and Midas Recycling, although prosecutors claim these were little more than "fronts" for alleged money laundering. Robinson has not been convicted of money laundering, and the charge has been ordered to lie on file.

The defendant, who had 47 different phones during the conspiracy and would routinely change numbers, was arrested in a Norwich hotel in 2016.

He and other gang members appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court for sentence on Friday after admitting drugs offences.

Nick Tucker, prosecuting, said much of the cocaine seized had a purity of between 80 and 90 per cent. 'Deal lists' were also discovered by police. On one day alone - June 12 2016 - four ounces-worth of high-grade cocaine worth some £10,000 was sold by the gang, according to a list.

The drugs were often stored and cut with agent benzocaine at 61-year-old William Parkes' house in Seabourne Place, Pokesdown.

Detectives discovered a whey protein tub filled with benzocaine after Parkes was arrested.

Mr Tucker said: "This was a major operation generating a very large income."

Aaron Robinson, 30 and of Brazier Close, Bournemouth, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs and conspiracy to blackmail. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

James Bruce-Joy, 29 and of Mossley Avenue, Poole, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs, and received a sentence of five years and nine months.

Jordan Cook, 21 and of Robert Louis Stevenson Avenue, Westbourne, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs and one of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply it. He was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years.

William Parkes, 61 and of Seabourne Place, Bournemouth, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs and one of concealing criminal property. He was sentenced to six years and nine months.

Michael Scott, 29 and of Albert Road, Poole, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs. He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison.

Jonathan Mills, 31 and of Ashley Road, Bournemouth, admitted one count of conspiracy to supply drugs. He received a sentence of four years and three months.

The police investigation identified Bruce-Joy and Cook as being among the associates directly operating on behalf of Robinson, along with Parkes, Scott and Mills, to control safe houses to store the drugs.

Police used surveillance, arrests and searches, CCTV and financial evidence to build a complex conspiracy case against the convicted defendants.

The total value of drugs seized during the operation has been estimated at between £131,732 and £165,172 if sold in bulk amounts, between £234,752 and £285,732 if sold in individual deals and up to £403,532 if bulked out with other substances.

The amounts of drugs recovered along with the dealer lists seized indicated that the organised crime gang was responsible for hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of drugs being distributed throughout the county. A total of £25,769 in cash was also seized.

Detective Sergeant Ian Johnson, of Dorset Police's Serious Organised Crime Team, said: “We are committed to tackling drug gangs operating in Dorset and will continue to do all we can to investigate those involved and bring them to justice, as well as protect vulnerable people who are often coerced into involvement."