Twelve drug dealers who sprayed Dom Perignon from a white Rolls-Royce in a drill rap video to boast about their weapons and wealth have been jailed for 130 years.
The Nottingham-based gang used the lyrics and images in their music videos to recruit children into their ‘industrial’ heroin and crack cocaine ring, a court heard.
The video in the hired Rolls-Royce shows 20 balaclava-clad young men posing at locations around the St Ann’s area of the city.
Godpraise Bouwen, 22, who has previous convictions for robbery and knife offences, can be seen rapping about ‘junkies asking for testers’ and defending his turf.
Nottingham Crown Court heard that the gangsters flooded towns across the East Midlands and Aberdeen with Class A drugs.
They used children to move and sell their stash to reduce their risk of getting caught – and protected their turf with knives and a loaded pistol.
The group also targeted drug addicts with ‘marketing texts’ and even set up distribution hubs at users’ homes.
Speaking about the rap videos, PC Ryan Millington from Nottinghamshire Police, said they were intended to recruit young drug dealers.
Twelve drug dealers who sprayed Dom Perignon from a white Rolls-Royce in a drill rap video to boast about their weapons and wealth have been jailed for 130 years
Cash and watches as seen in the gang’s Rolls-Royce rap video
He said according to the BBC: ‘Stacks of cash. Rolex watches. It makes it very easy for young people to become indoctrinated in that lifestyle.’
PC Millington said the gang recruited one 15-year-old who went to sell the gang’s drugs in a nearby town.
He explained: ‘He would stay at a drug user’s house to deal from.
‘That boy would be armed with a knife. They would do this because the young people have no criminal connection back to them.’
The gang’s leaders were Jephte Fikula and Sipho Ncube – who was seen spraying the Dom Perignon in front of white Rolls-Royce.
At Ncube’s home, police found a Rolex watch worth more than £10,000 and notes where he claimed he could make up to £20,000 a week through illegal drug dealing.
He sparked the initial investigation after he was caught by police running away from a car crash in September 2022.
In total, Nottingham police’s probe focused on 13 separate county lines that supplied drugs to Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Ripley, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Hucknall, Grantham and Spalding.
From left to right: Jephte Fikula, Ramone Campbell, Sipho Ncube and Godpraise Bouwen
Left to right, from top: Kamel Mantock, Jaysaniel Grant, Aiden Farah, Bayleigh Reid, Gaiel Landu, Tarelle Comrie-Patterson, Laquarne Fogo and Amang Kanyi
Prosecutor Jonathan Cox said it was an ‘industrial scale’ operation that also sought to target Leicester.
They found 33,000 ‘bulk marketing’ messages and more than 1,400 customer numbers.
The group were sentenced to a total of 130 years for their role in the drugs gang, including Fikula, 29, who received 21 years.
Ncube, 29, was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Bouwen, 22, and Ramone Campbell, 28, also received sentences of 15 years and 16 years respectively.
Eight other members also were handed lengthy custodial jail terms for their role in the gang.
