A tearful mum-of-three has been jailed for her part in a drugs conspiracy which led to her partner being locked up for 12 years.

Mirfield woman Kerry Shaw, 28, only gave birth to her third child about four months ago, but the Recorder of Bradford Judge Roger Thomas QC jailed her for seven years after he said she had played a central part in the conspiracies to supply Class A and C drugs onto the streets of West Yorkshire.

Shaw, of Foxroyd Drive, and her partner Anthony Graver, 54, were both found guilty of the conspiracy charges along with two other men following a trial at Bradford Crown Court last month.

Both were members of a drugs gang who continue to deal, despite knowing they were being investigated by police, who have been sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison.

Graver, 53, of Foxroyd Drive, Mirfield, Dale Brough, 50, of Sutton Close, Tyersal; Simon Stevenson, 33, of Parkside Road, West Bowling and Shaw have all been sentenced for their part in the crime ring focussed in the Wakefield, Kirklees and Bradford areas.

Graver was sentenced last month to a total of 12 years in prison for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs while Brough was sentenced to eight years for conspiracy to supply Class A and C drugs. Stevenson was sentenced to seven years in total.

Shaw was the final gang member to be sentenced, received a total of seven years in prison.

Police began their inquiry in November, 2012, when a vehicle being driven by Graver was seen visiting a garage in Tyersal Forde Industrial Estate which was rented by Brough. On leaving the garage the vehicle was stopped and searched by officers. Graver was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs and searches were carried out at the address where he was living.

Drugs found beneath Anthony Graver's car

A search was also made of the garage where Brough and Stevenson were both present. A set up for the cultivation of cannabis was found in the loft space above the office area and drugs including 2225 tablets of Class C drug benzylpiperazine (BZP) and 80 grams of cocaine, which together were worth several thousand pounds, were seized. Both were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs.

While Graver was on bail, he was seen by police officers parking a vehicle registered as belonging to Shaw in a secluded area at Birch Services on the M62. Searches were again made of the vehicle he was driving and at his home. A black box was found which had been attached to the underside of the vehicle using a magnet. The box contained three small packages containing a total of 59.59 grams of cocaine. A search was also made of Shaw’s home where 32.1 grams of cocaine and 714 grams of BZP and other Class C drugs were found. Det Insp Neil Hollis, of West Yorkshire Police Protective Services (Crime), said: “We are committed to taking drug dealers and the illegal drugs they peddle off the streets and welcome the prison sentences these individuals have been given.

“It is clear that this criminal operation has brazenly continued after the arrests of Graver, Brough and Stevenson in November 2012 with Graver being caught red handed with 60 grams of cocaine just a month later.

“Clearly, despite knowing they were under suspicion they must have considered themselves untouchable. I hope this case demonstrates that our enquiries do not end on arrest and that we will continue to act on any new intelligence or information from members of the public about those already under investigation.”

Shaw’s barrister Shirlie Duckworth urged the judge to consider taking a ‘wholly exceptional course of action’’ in suspending any prison sentence in her case, but Judge Thomas said she was not a helpless individual and knew full well what she was doing.

‘’You chose to play and important and central part in this conspiracy,’’ he told Shaw.

Judge Thomas described Shaw’s decision to have a third child while she was on bail awaiting her trial as ‘’extraordinary’’, but he said the adverse effect on the children was Shaw’s doing and not his.