Dramatic moment police arrest drugs courier after high-speed chase as helicopter swirls overhead Erik Thomas, 32, was going between Worcester, Leicester and Gloucester As he left the M5 at junction 12 near Gloucester officers stopped him But he tried to make his getaway by swerving across the road When he came to a halt, officers found £100,000-worth of cocaine Operation led to the arrest and jailing of gang leader Mark Dainty, 46 This is the dramatic moment police arrested a drugs courier after a police chase - an operation that led to a big time cocaine dealer being put behind bars. Mark Dainty, 46, who lived the high life from the profits of his evil trade has been jailed for nine and a half years. He drove a high-powered BMW and bought top of the range motorbikes and a speedboat. He also took his glamorous girlfriend on numerous sunshine holidays to exotic locations. Investigation: The courier Erik Thomas, 32, of Yate, Bristol, in a white Ford Transit van (ringed) captured on police CCTV Police give chase: As officers in a squad car surround Dainty's van it swerves into the fast lane But now the gang leader who believed he was too clever for the police is behind bars after a long term under cover operation ended with a dramatic car chase as a helicopter hovered overhead. At Gloucester Crown Court, Dainty was jailed for nine and a half years and three of his henchmen received sentences of between four and five and a half years at the same hearing. The court was told that police kept observations on Dainty's gang transporting cocaine regularly between Leicester and Gloucester over a two year period. When police finally pounced on his courier van they seized around half a kilo of cocaine with a potential street value in excess of £100,000. Officers allege that as a whole the conspiracy involved drugs with a potential street value of £250,000. Officers also seized Dainty's Bayliner speedboat worth more than £25,000. It had a newly-fitted sound system costing £2,500. They also seized a high-spec motorbike. Thomas tried to escape the blockade and drove dangerously onto the other carriageway in the face of oncoming traffic Thomas (ringed) then emerged from the van, walked out onto the road and lay face down on the road to be handcuffed Thomas emerged and so did Donna Gittings, 27, of Worcester, who was travelling in the van with him. Both were arrested on suspicion of possession of a class A drug Dainty, of Gloucester, had been running a motorcycle shop, Dockside Superbikes, as a cover for his illicit trade. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and money laundering. The police operation began in early 2011. On Thursday, April 21, 2011, Gloucestershire Police traced one of the group's couriers, Erik Thomas, 32, of Yate, Bristol, as he travelled in a Ford Transit van between Worcester, Leicester and Gloucester. As he left the M5 at junction 12 near Gloucester officers stopped his vehicle. Thomas tried to escape the blockade and drove dangerously onto the other carriageway in the face of oncoming traffic. He then pulled into a gateway, flinging the cocaine into a hedge as he did so. Several police vehicles swooped in behind him and armed officers leapt out pointing their weapons at his van. Cocaine gang boss Mark Dainty who led high life with his girlfriend was jailed for nine and a half years Thomas, wearing just a pair of shorts, then emerged from the van, walked out onto the road and lay face down on the road to be handcuffed. The package was recovered and discovered to be 246 grams of high purity (around 73 per cent) cocaine. Thomas was arrested on suspicion of supply of the class A drug. Donna Gittings, 27, of Worcester, who was travelling in the van with him was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a class A drug. She could be seen in the video emerging from the van after Thomas and kneeling on the road with her hands behind her head. Following Thomas' arrest the police investigation continued and on Wednesday September 7, 2011, Gloucestershire Police, supported by colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police and Leicestershire Police, carried out further arrests. In total, seven people have been put before the courts as a result of the investigation by Gloucestershire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit. Erik Thomas entered a guilty plea to the charge of conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was sentenced to four years nine months for the drugs offence and nine months for dangerous driving and has been banned from driving for two and a half years. Raphael Franks, 27, of Leicester, who was a courier in the gang, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Jason Edie, 28, of Leicester, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was sentenced to five years four months in prison. Donna Gittings pleaded guilty to possession of a class A drug and was sentenced to a nine month community order. The first arrest of the operation came on January 20, 2011, when another of the group's couriers was arrested. Gary Hooper, 39, of Tuffley, Gloucester, was later charged with possession with intent to supply a class A drug and was jailed for four years in May 2011. Dainty's girlfriend, Paula Cutts, 30, of Tuffley, Gloucester, was also arrested as part of the investigation. She was charged with money laundering offences and was issued with a formal caution. Gloucestershire Police have released dramatic footage of Thomas' arrest to act as a warning to those involved in the use and supply of illegal drugs. Detective Inspector Neil Carpenter, of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: 'This investigation disrupted a major supply route of cocaine into the county and my team have convicted the main person responsible. 'Dainty was living a luxury lifestyle with the illicit money he made by orchestrating the supply of cocaine and we're pleased to have both him and this harmful substance off our streets. 'The footage we've released of one of the arrests shows the moment when one of Dainty's couriers Erik Thomas was captured and his poor attempt to dispose of the evidence. Our investigation tracked the organisation as they sourced cocaine from Leicester and painstaking detective work and analysis also identified the persons who were supplying Dainty and they too were forced to plead guilty in light of the mass of evidence against them. Force boundaries are no issue in these types of investigation as we aim to dismantle and disrupt whole criminal conspiracies. Proceeds of Crime Act hearings will follow to hopefully strip people of any profit they have made.