A DRUGS kingpin has been jailed for 11 years.

Anthony Akins, of Severn Close in Sutton, was the ringleader of a gang who flooded the street of Ellesmere Port with heroin and crack cocaine.

Yesterday, Friday, the 27-year-old was one of nine men who were jailed for a total of 47 years at Liverpool Crown Court alongside a 16-year-old boy.

Akins – a head of the drugs ring alongside Ellesmere Port man Billy Neil - was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs after trial, while his co-defendants admitted the same offence.

Liam Quinn and Ricky Thompson also admitted additional offences of possession of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine with intent to supply.

Gang members were even seen dealing drugs in a children’s playground before police raided 11 properties in Ellesmere Port and across Merseyside in December last year.

Detective sergeant Graeme Carvell said: “I hope the significant sentences handed to these men will provide reassurance to residents who have been affected by their actions which have blighted the local community.

"This was an extensive and complex investigation which clearly showed Akins and Neil as the senior members of an organised crime group.

“These men have a clear disregard for the law.

"Today justice has been served and alongside the Crown Prosecution Service we have ensured that these individuals who engage themselves in serious and organised crime have been taken off the streets of Ellesmere Port.”

The sentences in full:

Anthony Atkins, 27, of Severn Close, St Helens – found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and sentenced to 11 years in prison

Billy Neil, 25, of Ellesmere Port – admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and sentenced to seven years and four months in prison

Kalib Morris, 20, of Ellesmere Port – admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and sentenced to five years and seven months in prison

Andrew Bebbington, 34, of Ellesmere Port – admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and sentenced to four years and four months in prison

Liam Quinn, 18, of Ellesmere Port – admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and possession with intent to supply MDMA, ketamine and cocaine and sentenced to four years and six month in prison

Joshua Quinn, 20, of no fixed address – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and sentenced to three years and four months in prison

Wade Smith, 20, of Ellesmere Port – admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and sentenced to three years and four months in prison

Gerard Privilege, 29, of no fixed address – admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and sentenced to three years and four months in prison

Ricky Thompson, 22, of Ellesmere Port – admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (cocaine and heroin) and possession with intent to supply cocaine, ketamine and MDMA and was sentenced to two years in prison

A 16-year-old boy from Ellesmere Port admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and was given a youth rehabilitation order with intensive supervision.

Another gang member, 43-year-old Simon Johnson from Ellesmere Port, admitted possession with intent to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court in May 2017.