DRUG KINGPIN’S LATEST SANCTION
5-YEAR ORDER AFTER DEALER IS RELEASED FROM PRISON
THE head of a gang which flooded North Wales with illegal drugs will be prevented from contacting members of the group after he gets out of prison.
Gavin Thorman will have to tell police who he has spoken to and will be restricted in the amount of cash he can hold at any given time.
The conditions are part of a Serious Crime Prevention Order made by a judge at Caernarfon Crown Court.
The 37-year-old appeared via video link from prison for a four-minute hearing. Bearded and wearing a grey sweatshirt and dark trousers, Thorman, formerly of Caernarfon, spoke only to confirm his name and to say he agreed to the terms of the order.
Prosecutor Ffion Tomos told the court that agreement had been reached with Thorman’s legal team as to the terms of the order, under which he will be unable to contact 15 members of the gang. The barrister said the individuals did not include his former partner Yasmin Owen.
He must have only one bank account, not use any other person’s account and not possess more than £1,000 in cash at any one time. He must also notify North Wales Police of any motor vehicle he owns or controls.
The order also directs that Thorman can own only one mobile telephone, one landline and one personal computer.
Ms Tomos said the order will last for the maximum period allowed of five years, and will come into force on the day Thorman is released from prison.
Making the order, Judge Merfyn Hughes QC told Thorman the measures would seek to prevent him from committing serious crime in the future and protect the public.
Thorman was jailed for 12 years in April 2015 after flooding the streets with cocaine and cannabis.
He and his 25 associates received more than 127 years’ imprisonment following a five-year investigation under Operation Scorpion, a North Wales Police initiative to combat serious crime.
During the trial of Thorman’s network, Caernarfon Crown Court heard police recovered 1.24kg of cocaine valued at £101,799, nearly six kilos of cannabis and plants worth £97,770. A Proceeds of Crime Act investigation led to Thorman being forced to hand over nearly £15,000.
Operation Yonside, part of the wider Operation Scorpion, was launched in 2009 after large quantities of cocaine were found hidden in a hotel locker in Caernarfon.
Information supplied by local police and the community helped detectives uncover drugs valued at over £179,000 stashed in various houses in the area.
Thorman was identified as the kingpin behind a network of dealers in Caernarfon, Liverpool and Manchester. While operating his drug empire from prison in Liverpool, the father-of-four had boasted he would make “millions” when he got out of jail.