Four high-profile Portsmouth area drug dealers jailed as "highly organised criminal network" dismantled

Six men who are part of a “highly organised criminal network” have been put behind bars after being sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court. Jimmy Stanley, Stephen Fennemore, Hugh Butler, and Harry Pearce, were found guilty of drug dealing and money laundering related offences.

Two more males, Harry Stevens and Joshua Stevens, were given suspended sentences. Investigating officer Detective Constable Mark Southey, said: “This was a highly organised criminal network operating on a national scale.

“Their use of encrypted technology showed a calculated effort to evade law enforcement and profit from the misery caused by supplying drugs. Thanks to brilliant investigative work and cross-force collaboration, we were able to dismantle a dangerous network and bring those responsible to justice.”

Between April and June 2020, the group was responsible for supplying Class A and B drugs multiple regions of the UK, including Hampshire, Berkshire, Manchester, and Liverpool. They were peddling cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, and other narcotics.

Their activities were facilitated by using encrypted EncroChat devices. Each handset costs roughly £1,400, with a further £500 paid quarterly to maintain data access. This secure communication method enabled the dealers to supply substances without being detected.

Stanley, Butler, Fennemore and Pearce were responsible for circulating nearly 300kg of cocaine. Butler alone is linked to 100kg of this. All offenders played a role in money laundering, taking a cut from narcotics sales while storing and transporting cash. They pleaded guilty to all the charges against them in hearings between September 2024 and February 2025. Charges were originally brought in June 2024. They were sentenced last Friday (October 3).

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Stanley, 39, of Victory Avenue in Waterlooville, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs - namely cocaine and ketamine. Fennemore, 57, of Lyndhurst Road in North End, Portsmouth, was sentenced to 11 years and nine months behind bars for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Butler, 27, of Hedge End Walk in Havant, was sentenced to nine years in jail for conspiracy to supply Class A and B narcotics - cocaine, ketamine and cannabis - and possession of a prohibited weapon. Pearce, 27, of James Road in Havant, was sentenced to eight years and three months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs, namely cocaine and cannabis.

Harry Stevens, 26, of Priorsdean Crescent, Havant, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work for conspiracy to supply cannabis. Joshua Stevens, 32, of Tankerton Close, Wymering, Portsmouth, was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay a £500 fine.

DC Southey added: “I hope these sentences send a clear message: those who choose to profit from organised crime will be pursued and held accountable.”