00:00A prolific drug dealer has been jailed for more than nine years after police found drugs with a potential street
00:06value of up to £1.1 million.
00:10Ellis Cowell, who's 25 and from Kingswood in South Gloucestershire, was arrested by firearms officers from Avon and Somerset Police
00:17at his home in March.
00:19Police searched Cowell's Mercedes and Vauxhall insignia.
00:23They found a rifle, ammunition, more than nine kilos of heroin and two kilos of cocaine.
00:29Footage released by police shows officers discovering the rifle inside the bag.
00:33Officers also found a large amount of cash.
00:36Police then searched several industrial estates for which Cowell had keys.
00:41There, they found 318 cannabis plants and equipment used for growing them, along with three kilos of vacuum-packed harvested
00:48drugs.
00:49Avon and Somerset Police also found chemicals and equipment they said were consistent with processing and preparation of kilogram quantities
00:57of Class A drugs.
00:59At Cowell's home, officers seized designer clothes, bags and trainers, as well as a Rolex watch.
01:05The case was heard at Bristol Crown Court, where Cowell was sentenced on September 18th to nine years and four
01:11months in prison.
01:12He pleaded guilty to seven offences.
01:15They included possession with intent to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis, as well as production of cannabis.
01:22He also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition without certificates and to possessing criminal property in the form
01:30of cash.
01:31Detective Chief Inspector Adam Smith from Avon and Somerset Police's Organised Crime Unit described Cowell as a key figure in
01:39what he called
01:40a sophisticated organised crime group supplying large quantities of drugs across the region.
01:45The force said Cowell had access to a rifle and live ammunition, which Detective Chief Inspector Smith said demonstrated the
01:53serious threat posed by people involved in this type of offending.
01:59According to Avon and Somerset Police, Cowell had a significant influence within the group and oversaw the purchase, storage and
02:06distribution of Class A drugs in wholesale quantities.
02:10The force also said he managed the site where large amounts of cannabis were cultivated and harvested.
02:16Detective Chief Inspector Smith said the operation was highly lucrative, with the drugs seized during the investigation having the potential
02:23to generate criminal profits of up to £1.1 million.
02:27The sentence means Cowell will spend more than nine years in prison after admitting responsibility for the offences.
02:33Avon and Somerset Police said its work will now continue beyond the criminal case.
02:37The force said it will seek to recover Cowell's criminal assets and deprive him of the proceeds of that crime.
02:44The force said this remains part of its work against organised crime.
02:47The case highlights the scale of the operation uncovered by officers, Class A drugs, cannabis cultivation, a firearm and ammunition,
02:55cash and equipment linked by police to drug processing.
02:59The 111
