TWO men who are serving long sentences for their roles in the drugs gang responsible for bringing in almost £250,000 worth of heroin into Newport will only have to repay a fraction of what they earned.

Appearing before Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, Gareth Jarvis, 30, and Carl Matthews, 41, both of Gaskell Street, Newport, are both currently serving jail terms of ten and eight years respectively for their roles.

Appeared before recorder judge Eleri Rees, the court heard how Matthews benefited £45,950 from the sale of the drug, while Jarvis benefited £56,465.

Matthews was ordered to pay £1,950 in 28 days from his available assets, while Jarvis was ordered to pay £6,640.19.

Also appearing before the court, was Fiona Walbey, 24, of Phillip Court, Newport, who served a 26 week sentence suspended for 12 months for her role.

Complications in regards to her assets in relation to the sale of a car registered in her name, meant that the case was adjourned until November 6.

Earlier this year, Jarvis admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and producing Class B drugs.

Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

Walbey, admitted permitting her premises to be used to supply a drug of Class A and permitting her premises to be used to produce a drug of Class B.

In total seven men and two women were sentenced for their parts in a £250,000 drug gang that brought heroin into Newport.

The gang brought the Class A drug along the M4 corridor from London and distributed it throughout South Wales to places including Newport, Barry and Swansea.

In January, Prosecutor Hywel Hughes told Cardiff Crown Court that Matthews and Jarvis “stood at the pinnacle of this operation.”

Matthews would meet a London-based Albanian man at various service stations along the M4 between July and December 2011.

There, he would pick up consignments of drugs before bringing them back to Newport and storing them either in the wheelie bin or buried in the gravel in the garden of Jarvis’ home in Lysaght Avenue which he shared with then-girlfriend Walbey.

On November 30, 2011, police were watching the gang and saw Matthews pull up outside Jarvis’ home and go inside carrying a bag before coming out six minutes later empty-handed.

They raided the house and found Michael Fayers, 31, of Llanthewy Road, Newport, stood in the kitchen just feet away from the bag which contained four solid blocks of heroin, wrapped in socks.

Each block weighed around 500g and had been cut, so each had a street value of around £50,000, totalling £200,000.

Upstairs, police found Jarvis and his cousin Richard Conibeer, 23, of Fernside, Lliswerry, along with a cannabis cultivation system in the attic, 34 cannabis plants and £4,000.

Mr Hughes also said Fayers, whom he described as Jarvis’ lieutenant, had been stopped by police in July 2011 after he was seen coming out of the home of Jason Croft, who was also jailed in 2012 for his role in the conspiracy, and getting in a taxi.

Fayers is currently serving a seven year sentence, while Conibeer got 12 months, but due to time spent on remand, was allowed to walk from court.

January’s sentencing follows three others, Stewart Evans, Kevin Williams and Croft, who were locked up last year as part of the same conspiracy, this time involving the supply of £45,000 worth of the drug.

Officers were initially alerted to the activities of the gang after a call was received reporting suspicious activity in Caerleon on March 18, 2011, which led to the arrests of Croft, Williams and Evans over the following four weeks after being found in possession of heroin with a street value of £1,000.

Based on the information gathered, officers investigating wanted to make arrests further up the supply chain and Operation Hawkeye was established.

The operation involved covert surveillance of Jarvis due to mobile phone records linking him to the mobile phones taken from Croft, Fayers and Williams.

Police gathered evidence of meetings and conversations and ultimately led police to the source of the drugs in London.