Drug-dealer jailed for role in organised crime gang

The judge said Jack Terence Boyd was involved in a 'very significant commercial drugs operation'

A man involved in an organised crime gang supplying drugs in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has been jailed for two years.

Jack Terence Boyd, 28, whose address was given as Maghaberry Prison, will spend another two years on licence after his release.

Londonderry Crown Court was told on Tuesday that he was found with a record of drug debts from people totalling about £200,000.

He admitted seven charges, relating to the possession and supply of drugs between May and July last year.

'Significant commercial drugs operation'

A prosecution barrister told Judge Roseanne McCormick that the case did not involve "street dealing" but commercial quantities of drugs and substantial sums of cash.

Defence barrister Michael Wilson said his client had become "intertwined" with organised criminals.

The judge said the offending came to light after Boyd was stopped in May 2024 and a mobile phone seized.

An examination of the phone revealed "substantial evidence" of drug dealing on both sides of the border involving "kilos of drugs".

Londonderry Crown Court was told that he was found with a record of drug debts from people totalling about £200,000

The defendant was released on bail, and on 26 July was seen driving and followed to an address, where two more phones were seized and a small quantity of drugs was found, along with money.

He told police he was acting "under duress" from paramilitaries and recounted how he had been taken away by them and assaulted.

Judge McCormick said Boyd had a "chaotic lifestyle" and at one point was spending £1,000 a day on his own drugs habit.

She described it as a "very significant commercial drugs operation", but said he would receive credit for his guilty plea.

The judge also ordered that €2,000 (£1,760) recovered in the case be donated to a local addiction charity.

'Cross-border organised crime gang'

Speaking after the sentencing, PSNI Sgt Moore said accessing Boyd's mobile phone had allowed officers to locate "evidence of his suspected involvement in serious drug supply, involving a cross-border organised crime gang".

"We are committed to disrupting the activities of those involved with criminality and drug supply," the officer said.

Sgt Moore added: "Information from the public is crucial in helping us tackle the scourge of drugs and removing those who supply drugs from our streets."