The south Essex criminals jailed this week

From domestic abusers, robbers, drug dealers and petty thieves, some henious crimes have been committed by these crooks.

One woman was abusive to shop staff as she stole items, while another vile man hurled a tirade of abuse at his ex-partner, with three men being jailed for nearly 30 years for heading up a drugs operation.

Here is a rundown of the criminals jailed this week at Basildon and Chelmsford Crown Court.

Stuart Thurgood

Stuart Thurgood was one of eight ringleaders of an organised crime group in Essex which supplied drugs to county lines gangs have been jailed for a combined total of more than 40 years.

The 39-year-old of Morley Grove, Harlow, served as the right hand man of the gang's leader.

He played for Southend United between 2001 and 2003, with various stints at Grays Athletic and East Thurrock United.

Thurgood was under the command of Christopher Golding, who headed up the network, which smuggled cocaine in containers through ports before selling it on to gangs supplying west Essex, Hertfordshire, London and Suffolk.

The operation was estimated to have earned them at least £500,000 which was stashed in Bitcoin or laundered through the pub Golding ran as a licensee.

Read more here.

Sadie Griffiths

As well as stealing from the shops, Griffiths, 26, of Merrivale, Benfleet, also hurled abuse at the members of staff who challenged her.

At Basildon Magistrates' Court she was given a community behaviour order which bans her from Sainsbury's in High Road, Benfleet, Co-Op in High Road, Co-Op in Kiln Road, and the Co-Op in Canvey Road, Canvey.

Shop staff have expressed relief that Griffiths is now banned from their premises.

Read more here.

John Morgan

John Morgan became enraged after the woman ordered him out of her house after a group came back there from a drinking session at the pub.

As he was jailed for 12 years at court, he shouted at the judge that reports into him were “b*******”.

The 31-year-old, of no fixed address, went back to the woman’s house with the group in the early hours of the morning on June 27 last year in South Ockendon.

Morgan insisted his pre-sentence report was not true at court, but Judge Samantha Cohen told him to "be quiet".

Billy Sharp

Sharp had been dropped off near the store by his step-dad following a row with his mother. The 37-year-old had demanded she give him money for drugs, but she refused.

His step-dad drove him away to stop the argument getting worse, but when dropping him off near the store, Sharp decided to rob the shop at around 6.30pm on April 27.

A brave ten-year-old boy in the store alerted a manager to what was going on.

Sharp was jailed for five years.

Barry Smith, Malik Ali and Devon Thompson

Smith, Ali and Thompson all played major roles in selling the Class A drugs across Essex.

Smith, 37, of Town Square, Basildon, and Ali, 37, of Wickford Avenue, Basildon, were both convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and fraudulent evasion of border controls.

Smith was also convicted of fraudulent evasion.

Around 1.44kg of heroin was found in boxes that had been stopped on March 13, 2019 after being flown to Heathrow from Pakistan, worth between £25,000 and £39,000.

They were jailed for a collective 28 years.

Daniel Hayward

Hayward has been locked up for sending a barrage of hateful messages and calls, including trying to call the woman 200 times on one day.

The 35-year-old, of Long Riding, Basildon, was told by a judge that he has an “uncontrollable temper” and that he dishes out threats “when things don’t go his way”.

In one message he threatened to shoot the woman if he ever saw her with anyone else.

He was branded a "bully" by the judge and jailed for two years for breaching a restraining order.