Chilling threats of county lines gang that used teenage boys to sell drugs in Hull
THREE TEENS WERE REGULARLY DRIVEN TO CITY FROM GREATER MANCHESTER
POLICE uncovered a chilling story of exploitation after a country lines gang used three boys to sell drugs in Hull.
The 16-year-olds were recruited to sell crack cocaine and heroin and transported numerous times along the M62 between Greater Manchester and Hull. They were coerced with threats of violence and went missing from home for a number of days.
Jamie Upton, 25, and his second in command Kade Joyson, 27, ran the county lines network, along with Upton’s partner at the time, Georgia Burns, 22.
Upton and Joyson have now been jailed for a combined total of more than 15 years.
The 16-year-old boys would stay overnight in properties that were dirty, littered with crack cocaine and heroin, drug paraphernalia and frequently visited by people addicted to drugs. The properties were described as crack dens and were so bad that Upton refused to stay in them, instead opting for a nearby hotel.
On one occasion, Joyson threatened to “chop” the sister of one of the boys to make him co-operate.
Officers from Humberside Police discovered the operation – which supplied Class A drugs from Greater Manchester to Hull – in April 2020. A flat in Beverley Road was being used as a place to store and deal crack cocaine and heroin.
Officers spotted a drug dealer leaving the property and heading towards an alleyway, where he attempted to sell drugs to a plain-clothed officer. Police raided the flat and one of the boys was with Upton, flushing drugs down a toilet. Several arrests were made. Mobile phones were seized along with £3,000 in cash.
In June 2020, Greater Manchesised ter Police were made aware of concerns surrounding one of the boys, who had gone missing from home. Inquiries to locate him led back to Hull and a flat off Marne Street, Chanterlands Avenue.
Humberside officers found the missing boy in the living room, asleep on the sofa, surrounded by five mobile phones and a small quantity of money. Officers from a child criminal exploitation team, based in Tameside, Greater Manchester, became involved.
Officers discovered that Georgia Burns had driven one of the boys to and from Hull on numerous occasions, in the knowledge that it was to facilitate drug dealing. When travelling with one of the boys, she messaged Upton to comment on his appearance, saying he “stinks”, and they both found it amusing.
During an 11-month operation, police obtained significant information about the group. In March 2021, Upton was arrested in bed at a property in Crammond Close, Newton Heath, Manchester.
Approximately £10,000 worth of crack cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, crystal meth, amphetamine and ketamine were found following a search of his home.
He was also in possession of 19 mobile phones, a rifle and Glock magazines containing ammunition. He pleaded guilty to these offences in November 2021 and was sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment.
Joyson left the country in August 2020. When he returned in April 2022, officers were waiting to arrest him. Upton, Joyson and Burns all plead guilty to charges relating to their county lines operation. They were sentenced at Bolton Crown Court.
Jamie Upton, 25, was sentenced to eight years three months’ imprisonment for possession of a class A drug with the intent supply, three counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, and arranging or facilitating the movement of a person with a view to exploitation. Half of his sentence will be served on licence.
Kade Joyson, 27, was sentenced to seven years three months’ imprisonment for two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, and arranging or facilitating the movement of a person with a view to exploitation. Half of his sentence will be served on licence.
Georgia Burns, 22, of Roman Road, Failsworth, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, for two counts of being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine. She was also given 20 rehabilitation days and 200 hours of unpaid work.
DC Laura Hughes, of Tameside’s Child Criminal Exploitation Team, said: “Upton oversaw an organnal crime group that operated a county lines network that was centred on exploitation. The group cared more about profits than they did about people.
“The boys were told they would make good money, that they naively thought would be easy. However, the reality is that they were seen as cheap labour and put to work selling drugs, then moved up and down the motorway to facilitate this.
“These children are vulnerable, often suffering from physical or mental illness, in social care, exclusion from school or at risk of neglect, making them a target for criminals. Once a friendship has been portrayed, the true reality begins to surface, debts need paying and threats of violence start to occur.
“I welcome the sentencing that has been passed today. It is the second conviction of child crimito exploitation under modern slavery for GMP and the Tameside district. We are committed to rooting out the exploiters and bringing them to justice to protect children.”
Anna Barker, Det Chief Insp for vulnerability in Tameside, added: “I want to thank Humberside Police, Tameside Council and the Crown Prosecution Service for the extensive support they have offered to the investigation that has ensured we’ve secured a second conviction case for modern slavery here at GMP.
“We know there are children in Manchester who will be experiencing this, and I want to reassure them that there is support and help available whether that’s by speaking to a youth worker, a charity such as Catch 22 or by contacting Fearless, anonymously, if they don’t feel comfortable speaking to police.”