A NUMBER of criminals, including a gang flooding cocaine into the county, were jailed for Dorset crimes in February.

Below are the people put behind bars this February for offences in Dorset.

Drug Gang

Bournemouth Echo:

Ardit Zani, 29, of Bournemouth, Andrew Doyle, 31, of Christchurch, Lawan Najim, 26, of Bournemouth, Marjus Nona, 23, of Birmingham, Agron Bendaj, 54, of Luton and Endri Kostreni, 29, of Bournemouth were jailed for a total of nearly 40 years for flooding cocaine into Dorset.

The offenders were part of an organised crime group, mainly made up of Albanian nationals, who facilitated the collection of kilogram blocks of the class A drug from London.

The cocaine was brought down to the Bournemouth area to deal in smaller quantities.

An extensive operation by Dorset Police led to the six defendants facing justice in the courts.

Zani was sentenced to eight years in prison, Bendaj received a seven-year jail term and Najim was jailed for six years.

Kostreni received a sentence of ten years, Doyle was jailed for five years and five months and Nona was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

The operation culminated in a day of action on Thursday, October 29, 2020, with officers stopping a vehicle in which a large block of cocaine, weighing just under a kilogram, was found

Stuart John Aldridge

Bournemouth Echo:

A man was jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of historical child sex offences against two girls.

Stuart John Aldridge, aged 52 and of Bournemouth, was convicted of rape, two charges of indecent assault and two counts of sexual activity with a child following a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.

The offences were committed over a period of around 10 years, starting in the late 1990s and involved two child victims.

One of the victims first disclosed the offences to police in April 2019 and the second victim was interviewed by officers the following month.

Aldridge was subsequently arrested and charged. He appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday, February 16, where a judge sentenced him to 18 years' imprisonment.

Ilker Can

Bournemouth Echo:

Ilker Can, 31, of Drummond Road, Portsmouth, was the second of two people to be jailed for an assault on a cyclist in Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens.

Appearing at Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday, February 14, Can was hailed for two years after admitting inflicting grievous bodily harm on Andrew Ntiamoah at around 1.30am on Monday, May 31.

Daniel Martin McInerney, aged 30 and of Hazelmere Drive, Northholt, had pleaded guilty to the same offence at an earlier hearing at the same court. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison.

The victim was cycling through the gardens when he came across a group of men, which included both defendants.

A verbal exchange ensued, and the defendants then launched a sustained assault on the victim, punching him repeatedly to the face and knocking him to the ground.

The victim sustained multiple facial fractures and an injury to his eye that requires ongoing treatment.

Stephen Sheppard

Bournemouth Echo:

A man who admitted causing the death of a new father with a “promising future” after falling asleep at the wheel was jailed.

Stephen Sheppard, 41, of Redhill Drive, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving after killing Warren Wright, 34, from London, in a crash on the A352 in Wool on July 5, 2020.

A sentencing hearing held at Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday, February 7, heard how Sheppard suffered from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and in the months leading up to the incident had not been using the machine to help him sleep.

Judge Jonathan Fuller QC, sentencing the defendant to three years and four months imprisonment, described Sheppard’s decision not to use the machine as “disturbing”.

Prosecuting, Tom Wright told the court there was no driver input into his Hyundai Tucson in the three seconds before the crash as he had fallen asleep at the wheel.

He then hit a caravan and the Ford Fiesta, which was behind the caravan, carrying Warren Wight.

Tony Roberts

Bournemouth Echo:

A man was jailed for more than a year after he used counterfeit cash in a deal to buy a car.

Toby Roberts presented the owner of the Land Rover with £400 in fake £20 notes after seeing the vehicle for sale on Gumtree.

Shortly after handing over the car to Roberts, who had signed documents with a different surname, the seller became concerned over the legitimacy of the cash.

He subsequently contacted police and a few days later officers an associate of the defendant was located sleeping in the vehicle.

This associate was arrested and told officers his friend had let him borrow the vehicle. Further police enquiries led them to believe this friend was Roberts and he was arrested nine months after acquiring the vehicle.

Appearing at Bournemouth Crown Court for sentencing on January 27, the 26-year-old was jailed for 16 months.