Gang jailed for targeting 'vulnerable' drug addicts

The four men and one woman were sentenced at York Crown Court

A man described as the ringleader of a drug supply network has been jailed for seven years and two months.

Liam Ayres, 33, of Monkswood Avenue, Seacroft, Leeds, had pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin in May.

The rest of the gang - three men and one woman all from Leeds - was also jailed by a judge at York Crown Court.

The group had targeted "vulnerable" drug addicts in Scarborough and North Yorkshire, police said.

The network was uncovered when police stopped a car in Scarborough in June 2017.

The car's driver, Anthony Cleary, and passenger Daniel Squires were searched by officers who found 28 wraps of heroin, 30 wraps of cocaine and £290 in cash.

Their arrest led officers to Ayres, his then girlfriend Tammy Cleary and Ethan Bodally.

Ayres rented a flat on Albion Crescent in Scarborough where police found evidence of drug dealing

A search of a flat on Albion Crescent in Scarborough, rented by Ayres, found more evidence of drug dealing.

Det Con James Temple, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "The gang targeted local drug addicts, many of whom are vulnerable due to their addiction and to compound the risks to them, some of the drugs were a potential deadly mix of heroin and fentanyl."

Those convicted in addition to Ayres:

• Tammy Cleary, 27, of Monkswood Avenue, Seacroft, Leeds, was found guilty at York Crown Court on 26 June of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal criminal property - she was jailed for five years

• Anthony Cleary, 26, of Naburn Road, Whinmoor, Leeds, was also found guilty in June of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal criminal property - he was sentenced to five years

• Ethan Bodally, 20, of Stanks Drive, Seacroft, Leeds, pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal criminal property - he was jailed for four years and five months

• Daniel Squires, 28, of Hyde Park Road, Leeds, pleaded guilty in 2018 to one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) in 2018 - he was sentenced to three years and four months