Father and son among eight jailed over York drugs racket

The operation was led by father and son Michael and James Leaf, police said

Eight men, led by a father and son, have been jailed for their part in a large-scale drug-dealing operation.

Detectives said the men had cultivated cannabis on an "industrial scale" and used their business as a cover to move cocaine between Leeds and York.

Michael and James Leaf, aged 61 and 29, of Fairway, York, were jailed for 16 years and five months and 14 years and eight months, respectively.

They were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.

Craig Hazel, Andrew Bailey and Niki Squire were all convicted of conspiring to supply cocaine

Niki Squire, 39, Andrew Bailey, 54, Michael Clancy, 34, and Gwyne Hollis, 66, were each jailed for between seven and 17 years for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Mark Vasey, 58, was jailed for six years and eight months for conspiracy to produce cannabis, and Craig Hazel, 57, was jailed for six years for the same offence.

Gwyne Hollis was sentenced to 17 years in his absence for conspiracy to supply cocaine and remains a wanted person

North Yorkshire Police said between November 2018 and May 2019 the father and son organised trips to pick up drugs from Hollis in Leeds.

They were then moved back to York to be distributed by Clancy, who also collected drug debts on behalf of the pair.

In May 2019, Squire was stopped by police while driving back from a drugs pick-up and cocaine with a street value of £100,000 was found in his van.

Following his arrest, detectives said the gang started to dispose of and destroy phones used to arrange the drug-runs, along with other evidence.

Michael and James Leaf had also attempted to established a joint venture to grow cannabis on an "industrial-scale" at a vacant property in Market Weighton owned by Hazel, police said.

Following the sentencing, investigating officer Det Con Neil Borchardt said the gang acted on "pure selfishness and greed" and had absolutely no regard for the "damage and misery" caused by class A drugs.

"The same for Vasey and Hazel, both men thought about nothing other than lining their own pockets with their illegal activity," he said.

Sentences:

• Michael Leaf was sentenced to 16 years and five months for conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiring to produce cannabis

• James Leaf was sentenced to 14 years and eight months for conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiring to produce cannabis

• Niki Squire, of Tennyson Avenue, York, was sentenced to eight years and six months for conspiracy to supply cocaine

• Andrew Bailey, of Kelcbar Close, Tadcaster, was sentenced to seven years and one month for conspiracy to supply cocaine

• Michael Clancy, of Chapmangate, Pocklington, was sentenced to seven years and one month for conspiracy to supply cocaine

• Gwyne Thomas Hollis, of Heathcroft Crescent, Leeds, was sentenced to 17 years in his absence for conspiracy to supply cocaine. He remains a wanted person

• Mark Vasey, of The Plough Inn, Wakefield, was sentenced to six years and eight months for conspiracy to produce cannabis

• Craig Hazel, of Lea Way, Huntington, was sentenced to six years for conspiracy to produce cannabis