A TRIAL into three people allegedly connected with a large-scale drug operation in West Oxfordshire continues at Oxford Crown Court.

Mark Hickford, 51, and Liam Field, 26, are standing trial accused of being ‘downstream customers’ of two brothers who last year were found guilty of sourcing kilos of cocaine into the UK.

Brothers Richard and Patrick Gray were jailed in the summer of 2022 after police swooped in on the gang in May, raiding properties in Oxford, Witney, Banbury, and Milton Keynes.

Officers seized 2.5kg of high-purity cocaine and around 110,000 in cash.

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Richard Gray’s former partner, Melissa Grant, 33, is also on trial charged with possession of criminal property, namely £44,315 in cash.

The trial heard on Monday (January 22) different EncroChat, an encrypted message software, conversations that occurred between Richard Gray and his customers.

A 12-strong jury were taken through the messages which featured Richard Gray’s handle ‘CheetahSoda’.

It was heard that he frequently messaged his couriers and customers for ‘drop-offs’.

A trial in 2022 heard that the brothers sent couriers to Preston and Bury to pick up kilos of cocaine at a time.

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The court heard that it was not believed Hickford used EncroChat but multiple calls were discovered between him and Richard Gray’s ‘unregistered’ phone number.

Hickman, of Hartford Road, in Edmonton, Field, of Swindon, and Grant, of Barley Court, Witney, all deny their involvement.

The trial continues.