How police took down Stanley Woods and his drugs empire

Twelve gang members have been locked up for a combined 33 years and eight months.

The criminal enterprise, which armed youths with modified guns, was headed by 'kingpin' Stanley Woods. 

The 21-year-old coordinated a drug dealing network spanning Southampton, Winchester, Bournemouth and Portsmouth. 

He and his members sold cannabis, MDMA and cocaine that had been imported from Europe.

The cash they made was converted into Bitcoin in a bid to cover their tracks. 

READ MORE: Drugs empire smashed as gang jailed for more than 30 years

When police burst into Woods' home in Imperial Avenue, they seized a mobile phone revealing his associates and the scale of the network he was running. 

During a two-year investigation, police confiscated more than 58kg of cannabis worth more than £500,000. 

They also seized more than £38,000, £50,000 in cryptocurrency and weapons including antique firearms, knives, crossbows and machetes. 

Stanley Woods (left). Top row from left: Zak Blake, Tyler Williams, Daniel Sivyour. Middle row from left: Daniel Burnet, Eduardo Nunes, Kyle Hall. Bottom row from left: Nathan Hayes, Lloyd White, Robert Southwell (Image: Hampshire police)

The gang operated between April 2019 and November 2020.

On November 17, 2021, they raided a series of buildings leading to Woods' arrest and subsequent charge. He has since been jailed for six years and eight months.

Most recent sentencings

Other gang members were later arrested and hauled before the courts with the final two members being put behind bars today. 

On Thursday, Zak Blake and Tyler Williams appeared at Southampton Crown Court having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of a class A drug. 

Williams also admitted dangerous driving after the pair were involved in a high-speed police chase through the streets of Southampton. 

Some of the drugs and weapons seized by police (Image: Hampshire police)

A court was told how the pair were together in a Ford on June 27, 2020, when police began following it in Southampton. 

Taking off at speed through Swaythling, the car ran red lights and overtook other vehicles whilst cannabis was hurled out the window. 

The pair was finally caught after being boxed in by a police patrol in a residential street. 

'A million lines of data examined'

Defending Blake, Tom Evans told the court how his client hasn't committed any offences since he was arrested. 

Meanwhile, Audrey Archer, for Williams added that he had "come under the spell of Mr Woods and set about committing these offences."

Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Rowland said it was a "large scale operation", sparking "painstaking work" by the police to bring the gang members to justice. 

"DC Swift and his team are to be commended for the painstaking work they undertook to apprehend these defendants and reveal the extent of the offending; over a million lines of data were examined.

"Little need be said about the misery caused by the supply of illegal drugs. This activity generates further crime with the interaction between criminal gangs."

'The city is a much safer place'

DC Swift, who headed the investigation, said: "Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our officers, we have cut out an entire organised crime gang which was the root cause of so much drug related harm and serious violence in Southampton.

"Woods was once the kingpin of the operation and now he and his associates are behind bars, the city is a much safer place and their gang has been dismantled.

The cannabis plants found at the address of gang member, Daniel Sivyour (Image: Hampshire police)

"This investigation has not only recovered a large amount of cannabis, it also recovered the monetary gains that Woods’ tried to hide in crypto currency.

"However, this case is about so much more than cannabis and cash – it is about tackling the violence and exploitation of vulnerable people that goes hand in hand with organised crime.

"This investigation has identified and removed children and vulnerable people from the drugs trade."

Law change

The investigation also exposed a loophole in the sale of antique guns and ammunition that saw the items modified for use as weapons. 

However the law has now been changed to ban the sale of the weapons, with Stanley Woods gang being used as a main example to parliament as to why they should be stopped. 

DC Swift added: "The change in the law means that never again will criminal organisations be able to poison our communities with lethal weapons in the same way."

Gang members jailed

• Stanley Woods, 21, of HMP Winchester - six years and eight months
• Daniel Sivyour, 44, of High Street, Newport - six years and six months 
• Stacey Burton, 34, of Alexandra Road, Bournemouth - three years and three months 
• Eduardo Nunes, 22, of Coxford Road, Southampton - three years
• Nathan Hayes, 29, of Monks Way, Southampton - two years and nine months
• Lloyd White, 34, of Denzil Avenue, Southampton - two years and nine months
• Tyler Williams, 22, of Priory Road, Southampton - two years (he was also disqualified from driving for the same amount of time)
• Daniel Burnet, 25, of The Close, Hedge End - two years
• Kyle Hall, 28, of Anson Drive, Southampton - two years
• Robert Southwell, 35, of Avenue Road, Southampton - two years
• Zak Blake, 21, of no fixed address - 18 months 
• Jade Stubbs, 22, of Outer Circle, Southampton - nine months

Gang members spared jail

• Alfie Davies, 19, of Primrose Road, Southampton - two-year suspended sentence
• Luke Stubbs, 19, of Avenue Road, Southampton - two-year suspended sentence
• Andrew Stoner, 22, of Eastbourne Avenue, Southampton - 16-month suspended sentence
• Tracy Cornock, 37, of Witts Hill, Southampton - 18-month community order
• Nathan Burton, 27, of Witts Hill, Southampton - two-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and 120 hours of community service
• Marios Petrou, 18, of Dunbar Close, Southampton - 150 hours of community service

Don’t miss the biggest cases from across the area – sign up to our Court and Crime newsletter.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article on the Daily Echo. Your support means we can bring you the latest breaking news, exclusive Saints features and coverage - and much more.

Digital subscribers get unrestricted access to all of our stories, our dedicated app including e-version of the newspaper, and an advertising-light website.

If you want all the latest articles delivered straight to your inbox you can join the thousands of subscribers who are signed up to our newsletters.

They include our popular daily morning news briefing, breaking news, crime and court, and Southampton FC bulletins - plus business, heritage and our what's on newsletters.