‘Big city drug gangs trying
A BIG city drug dealer who was part of an organised crime gang established a base in Bridgend to “cash in” on local drug problems.
Police said drug user Anthony Hayes, 61, allowed Kieran Carolan from Birmingham to use his flat on Coity Road on the condition that he received two bags of heroin for free and £20 in cash every week.
In an unrelated case a London drug dealer used a 14-year-old boy to deliver crack cocaine and heroin to customers.
To let addicts in Barry know their goods were on the way, Byron Facey Gordon sent out blanket text messages announcing “breakfast is served”. He is said to have also run “lunch time”, “two-forone” and “happy hour” offers to entice orders.
South Wales Police said the teen courier’s mum contacted them when she noticed her young son with cash, wearing expensive new trainers, riding a new bike and having sometimes not been seen for days on end.
All three men have been jailed but a police chief has warned their capture is a sign that big city drug gangs are trying to infiltrate communities by targeting vulnerable people.
Chief Inspector Lisa Gore has warned residents in Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan to be on “high alert”.
“Recent convictions should be a wake-up call for everyone. Gangs from outside are trying to infiltrate our communities and they are targeting vulnerable and desperate people to establish strong local bases for their drugs operations. They’ll target young people, giving them the things that they can’t afford themselves, such as trainers, bikes, or gaming consoles, or offer things that people desperately need, such as drugs to drug addicts.
“They’ll use these people to run their drugs from street to street to create a thriving local businesses with strong local connections.”
Carolan and Hayes were jailed for three and a half years at Cardiff Crown Court on February 5 for possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.
Gordon, 36, from the Lambeth area of London, was jailed at Cardiff Crown Court on December 27 for five years and eight months having admitted to possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.
South Wales Police said these cases bear the hallmarks of what police across the UK call a County Lines drugs operation.
County Lines is the name given to the telephone numbers used to manage provincial drugs markets by crime gangs in big cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham – their operations are usually characterised by the exploitation of vulnerable people to sell drugs in other cities, towns and villages.
Chief Insp Gore added: “The additional threat to communities is the impact that these gangs can have if they take hold.
“Not only do they exploit people, they run their business with ruthless violence often inflicted with weapons such as knives.
“In places such as Barry and Bridgend – where knife crime and such violence is so rare – it threat-
‘Our number one priority is to protect vulnerable people and this includes the children and adults who are ruthlessly exploited by these gangs to do their dirty work...’