An eleventh man has been jailed for his role in a major cocaine supply conspiracy across the West Midlands, bringing the total number of convictions in the case to 11 and prison sentences to more than 100 years.
Steven Woolridge, aged 41, of Lyndale Road, Coventry, was sentenced to 14 years and eight months at Birmingham Crown Court on 12 June. He played a leading role in the sophisticated drug network uncovered by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit.
Woolridge, known by aliases including “Mr Wolf” and “Big Wolf”, was not directly involved in street-level drug dealing. Instead, he acted as a key figure connecting UK-based drug dealers with international suppliers and was instrumental in managing the supply chain and enforcing the collection of debts.
The group was responsible for moving hundreds of kilos of cocaine, transported in vans from London and Bedfordshire to the West Midlands. Some of the drug consignments were marked with the Latin phrase alea iacta est, meaning “the die is cast”.
The sentencing of Woolridge follows a series of convictions last year, where four men — Mark Cheadle, Paul Patterson, Martin Brown and James Piotrowski — were jailed for between six and 15 years in August 2024.
Two further individuals were later imprisoned, and in January 2025, Steven Dawkins, Navis Choudhury, Joe Whyley and Kane Brown were sentenced to between eight and nine years.
The investigation has dealt a significant blow to the region’s drug trade, with law enforcement hailing the operation as a major success against organised crime.