How a notorious Mansfield drugs kingpin who flooded Ashfield with heroin was finally brought down 18 years ago
Nottinghamshire Police celebrated a major coup in the war on drugs last week after seeing a Mansfield gang who used storage containers to hide guns and deal drugs sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.
The lengthy jail terms came after an 85-day police surveillance of Robin Hood Storage, on Old Mill Lane industrial estate in Mansfield Woodhouse, where the gang peddled heroin, crack cocaine, MDMA and cannabis to street dealers.
Gang ring-leader Jamie Smith (37), of Breckbank in Mansfield, was given the longest sentence of 22 years and eight months.
It was a significant sentence which brought back memories of when police chiefs in the county brought down a similar Mansfield drugs kingpin almost 18 years ago to the day.
In September of 2008 viscious Gary Hardy (45) found himself facing a 20 year stretch in jail following a 10 week trial at Nottingham Crown Court which had concluded the previous month.
The dramatic court case revealed how the drugs general had used violence, fear and intimidation to flood North Nottinghamshire with heroine and amphetamines to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Ruthless Hardy, who owned sports cars and a multi-million pound property portfolio, had worked in conjunction with brother Paul (47), mother June Muers (67) and Paul’s ex-partner Zoe Chapman (29) to control trade of the Class A drug around Sutton and Kirkby.
He had shared the area with two other dealers, John Dawes and his brother Rob, to avoid a turf war.
The saga’s finale also saw Paul Hardy given 12 years in prison and Muers three years, while Chapman was jailed for 42 months.
Judge Howard Morrison told Gary Hardy: "You dealt large scale in heroin. It is easy profits, but it attracts long sentences."
The jury had heard how remorseless Hardy, who made £8,000 for every kilo sold on the streets, had made it a family affair by using his crack addict brother Paul to deal vast quantities of drugs.
The brothers’ mum June also dealt amphetamines and cannabis out of her home in Kirkby, while Chapman supplied amphetamines to clients in her children's pushchair.
Unscrupulous Gary Hardy was eventually caught after a drugs handover in a car park was traced to his mobile phone while he was under surveillance.
But the lengthy prison term was not to be the end of his prolific criminal career, with Hardy sentenced to a 23 year prison sentence in June 2025 for being a key figure in a four-man gang who organised the making and selling of 'assassination kits' to drug dealers and other criminals across the UK.
Hardy, now in his early 60s, paid fellow conspirator Ronald Knowles to acquire blank firing handguns and ammunition before converting them into usable firearms at his home in Ravenshead.
He then sent the packages, which contained a handgun, silencer, magazine and ammunition wrapped in latex gloves, to fellow crime lord Steven Houston for supply to the criminal underworld.
Judge Mark Watson told Hardy during sentencing: “These were high quality conversions. Gary Hardy, you have a background in high-level organised crime and I am satisfied you put this together and I am also satisfied you oversaw matters. This was a business which at its core was selling to criminals and to make money on items which endangered life."
Following the sentence, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Adas, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Hardy is likely to spend the remainder of his life behind bars, which sends out a clear message to those willing to get involved in this level of criminality.”
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