Derbyshire Times news bulletin 4th February 2025

Derbyshire Times news bulletin with editor Phil Bramley

Transcript

00:00Here's today's Derbyshire Times video bulletin.

00:04Seventeen people have been convicted for their part in a major organised crime gang involved

00:09in the supply of huge quantities of cocaine into North Derbyshire.

00:13More than nine kilograms of cocaine and over £120,000 in cash was recovered by officers

00:19as part of the operation, which was led by the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit.

00:26Detectives including imitation firearms, knives and a taser were seized after officers

00:31dismantled the crime group, along with jewellery, high-value vehicles and designer clothing.

00:37Detective Inspector Beth Lee from the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit, the senior

00:41investigating officer in the case, said,

00:44This was a large-scale and complex investigation into the group, which brought huge quantities

00:49of illegal drugs into Derbyshire.

00:51They recruited numerous people to help them sell cocaine and profited greatly from their

00:55illegal activities.

00:57Many of them were also involved in violent altercations with other groups or used the

01:02threat of violence to carry out their activities.

01:05Removing people like this from our streets has a huge positive impact on the safety of

01:09our communities and demonstrates that we will not tolerate the harm that they cause.

01:16The oldest pub in Chesterfield is set to reopen after being taken on by a new team, with a

01:21venue having been empty for a number of years.

01:24The Royal Oak, located at The Shambles in Chesterfield Town Centre, will open its doors

01:28again soon, with a new team taking on the historic venue.

01:32The Royal Oak has been closed since August 2021, and back in 1967 a redevelopment scheme

01:38threatened the pub with demolition, sparking an outcry which resulted in a plan to hoist

01:42the building onto rollers and transfer it into a new site.

01:45However, neither the redevelopment or the pub's relocation materialised.

01:50The half-timbered hidden gen in the town centre has operated as a pub since 1722 according

01:55to the earliest records.

01:57The building is said to have originally been served as a rest house for the Knights Templar

02:01during the Crusades of the 12th century, and during the medieval period the premises also

02:06housed two butchers and accommodation.