A gang who flooded the streets of York with heroin and cocaine have been jailed.
Kyle Mayfield, 36, Oshane Williams, 20, Kane Wilson, 35, and Kallum Osborne, 25, transported large quantities of Class A drugs into the city and used dealer or “cash” lines to send out broadcast messages to drug users, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Andrew Petterson said that Mayfield – who had a record for violence and carrying firearms – was the mastermind and lynchpin in the lucrative drug enterprise, directing others and even booking taxi and trains for his underlings to sell drugs on the streets of York.
All four men admitted conspiring to supply heroin and cocaine and appeared for sentence via video link at court.
“Mayfield was at the top of the conspiracy (and) drugs were transported from South Yorkshire and Huddersfield into York over a six-month period,” added Mr Petterson.
“The defendants used a drugs line referred to by police as the “Cash Line” (which was) used by the defendants to advertise the sale of Class A drugs to drug users.”
The gang’s modus operandi was to travel across county borders into York and then send out broadcast or “mass” text messages to users, and then arrangements would be made to supply the drugs.
“At times, mass messages were being sent out every other day,” said Mr Petterson.
Mayfield was “at the heart of the conspiracy” and changed his phone number several times throughout the six-month period, but he still wasn’t able to shake off the attentions of North Yorkshire Police.
He and Kane Wilson were arrested in February 2019 after their vehicle was stopped on the A64 near Billborough on their way to York. Police found 6.5g of heroin inside the vehicle.
Three months later, Kallum Osborne, who was recruited as a drug courier, and a named woman who also played a part in the conspiracy, were arrested as they travelled from Huddersfield to York. Osborne was found with about £1,500 of heroin and crack cocaine secreted in his underwear.
Mayfield, who recruited Oshane Williams to transport drugs into York by taxi and train, was arrested for other matters in May 2019 and was found with £800 cash.
Highly lucrative
Mr Petterson said the modest quantities of drugs and cash seized by police were in no way indicative of the wider drug operation which would likely have been highly lucrative, as evidenced by the sheer number of broadcast messages, incriminating phone calls and the estimated 1,421 deals during the offending period.
He said the amount of Class A drugs supplied during this period could have been anything between 150g and 1.4 kilos.
“Mayfield was directing and organising the sale of drugs on a large scale,” added Mr Petterson.
“He clearly had substantial links to others in the chain.”
Mayfield, from Sheffield but of no fixed abode, had previous convictions for violence, supplying heroin, aggravated burglary and carrying a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Wilson and Williams also had records for violence, drugs supply and carrying a firearm.
Defence counsel for Mayfield said his client may well have been part of an even larger drug network involving people higher up the chain.
Vanessa Saxton, for Wilson, said that her client, a father-of-two who was used as the driver in the conspiracy, had already received a sentence for dangerous driving in connection with the dealing enterprise. He was currently serving a prison sentence for a separate matter in Bradford.
Barrister Robert Mochrie, for Williams, said that his client, who was only 16 when the conspiracy began, had been given a prison sentence for another matter in January.
He said that Williams had only been involved in the conspiracy for nine days and had been “in thrall to older men, being sent to do their bidding”.
Khadim Al’Hassan, for Osborne, said his client was a drug user who had played a lesser role in the conspiracy after being “exploited” by others.
Judge Sean Morris jailed Mayfield for three years and eight months for his leading role in the conspiracy.
Oshane Williams, of no fixed address, received 12 months in a young offenders’ institution, consecutive to the prison sentence he was presently serving.
Kane Wilson, also of no fixed abode, was jailed for three years and two months, consecutive to the jail sentence he was currently serving. Osborne, of Gaunt Place, Sheffield, was given an 18-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to carry out 280 hours’ unpaid work.