Seven members of a drugs gang who supplied at least a tonne of high-purity cocaine worth up to £70 million to dealers around the M25 have been jailed for a total of 111 years.

The sentence marks the end of a three-year police investigation during which detectives believe 20 drug distribution networks were smashed, with around 100 people arrested and charged, resulting in custodial sentences totalling more than 800 years.

Led by Dean Beeton, 37, from Watford, they made around £2.7 million a week, as Giovanni Luciano, 33, arranged sales from his prison cell using a smuggled encrypted mobile phone.

Wholesale quantities of the Class A drug, with a 90% purity, were transported from the West Midlands at least 38 times to safe houses around London, from where runners would sell cocaine across London and beyond.

Cash worth £50,000 was found at the houses of the dealers during the arrests of the final seven men involved in the operation.

Harrow Times:

£50,000 cash was seized from the homes of those arrested. (Photo: Met Police)

A stolen £1 million Sir Stanley Spencer painting, titled Cookham From Englefield, was discovered in jailed drug dealer Harry Fisher's home as part of the inquiry.

And the investigation was dubbed ‘Operation Louboutin’ after the boxes of designer shoes discovered alongside the work, taken from the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Berkshire in 2012.

Judge Elaine Coello sentenced seven members of the gang to a total of 111 years imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs between December 2016 and January 2018.

"People who are caught engaging in the wholesale distribution of cocaine can expect severe sentences and you are at the top of the criminal drug supply network," the judge said.

"You cause the most damage because you are the main source of supply to the wholesalers, drug dealers and ultimately individuals."

Judge Coello said a metric tonne was a "conservative estimate" of the drugs supplied by the men during the period - worth around £30 million wholesale and with a street value of £70 million.

"It is a scourge on society, the criminal organisations like the one you engaged in are the worst of the worst," she told the men.

Harrow Times:

A large quantity of cocaine was obtained (Photo: Met Police)

Beeton, was jailed for 27 years, while Luciano, who is serving a previous sentence for supplying cocaine, was handed a 17-year jail term.

The sentencing brought to an end a much wider operation which saw police seize more than 280kg of cocaine, 8.5kg of heroin, 15,000 MDMA tablets and 45kg of cannabis.

A dozen viable firearms were also recovered, including a Scorpion submachine gun with ammunition.

Temporary Detective Superintendent Danny Gosling from the Met's Specialist Crime Command said: "The sentencing of these seven men marks the end of this investigation, and the end of a long-running, complex and sophisticated operation which has resulted in the conviction of more than 100 individuals for being involved in the supply of drugs.

"There is an inextricable link between the supply of drugs and the violence we have seen unfolding on the streets of London.

"By dismantling numerous networks responsible for the supply of drugs, this operation has undoubtedly prevented incidents of violence and potentially saved lives.

"The individuals in this case attempted to prevent us from detecting their criminality and used a range of physical and digital means to do so.

"But with the collaboration of specialist crime officers, forensic teams, analysts, we have been able to prove unquestionably their involvement."

Fisher was jailed for eight years and eight months at Kingston Crown Court in 2017 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, acquiring criminal property and handling stolen goods.

• Dean Beeton, 37 of Andrew Reed Court, Watford was jailed for 27 years.

• Perry Davies, 33 of Muirfield Road, South Oxhey, was jailed for 16 years.

• Gary Piper, 38 of Shanklin Gardens, South Oxhey, was jailed for 15 years.

• Giovanni Luciano, 33 of no fixed address was jailed for 17 years.

• Jason Holland, 48 of Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire was jailed for 12 years.

• Mark Oldfield, 42 of no fixed address was jailed for 10 years.

• Callum Doherty, 29 of Strode Road, Fulham, SW6 was jailed for 14 years.