Drug gang member sentenced to nine years in jail on Isle of Man

Darryl Thomas was sentenced at Douglas Courthouse on Friday

A member of an organised crime gang involved in importing cocaine and cannabis to the Isle of Man has been jailed for nine years.

Darryl Thomas, of Birkenhead, was linked to the transportation of the drugs to the island by ferry.

Douglas Courthouse heard he handed himself in to police after officers raided a number of properties in April as part of a drugs operation.

Thomas, 28, was also banned from the island for five years after release.

In June 2022 Thomas, of Price Street, had arranged for another man to take a vehicle containing the drugs from the north west of England to the island on the ferry.

When searched by police on arrival in Douglas it was found to have 20 packages containing £78,000 of cannabis and cocaine with a street value of between £99,000 and £142,000 hidden inside.

'Serious criminal activity'

A search of his phone revealed direct messages between Thomas and a lead member of the gang, 35-year-old James Spotswood, who was jailed in August.

He pleaded guilty to importing cocaine and importing cannabis to the island.

Deemster Graeme Cook said while the 28-year-old had not been a leading member of the group himself, he had become "involved in serious criminal activity", which he knew involved drugs.

However by handing himself into police, Thomas had shown "full remorse", the deemster said.

Another leading member of the gang, 27-year-old Kyle Molyneux, was jailed for 20 years for a string of offences linked to drug dealing.

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