A Harrogate guest house owner who played the role of “facilitator” in a half-a-million-pound cannabis racket has sacked her legal team as she pursues plans to appeal her conviction.

Yoko Banks, 74, rented out her properties to an Albanian drug gang for “industrial” cannabis production “in the expectation of significant profit”, Leeds Crown Court heard.

The pensioner, of Scargill Road, was jailed for three-and-a-half years in August last year after she admitted three counts of being concerned in the production of cannabis. 

Her six co-conspirators, Visar Sellaj, 33, Kujtim Brahaj, 50, Indrit Brahaj, 27, Bledar Elezaj, 36, Andi Kokaj, 23, and 31-year-old Erblin Elezaj, an illegal immigrant, were jailed for a combined 22 years for various offences including drug supply and production of skunk cannabis.

Banks, who owns properties across Harrogate, was back in court today to face financial confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

But they were postponed once again after the court heard she was still intent on appealing her conviction and wanted to leave her legal team in favour of another firm of solicitors.

Prosecutor Michael Bosomworth said there was also an issue with a statement provided by one of Banks’s co-defendants, the gang’s ringleader Sellaj, who claimed that some of the money in his bank account had been transferred to him by relatives in Albania. 

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He added, however, that the major sticking point involved Banks and her “complicated accounts and property empire”.

Mr Bosomworth said Banks was now claiming “she only understands Japanese” – although she spoke in English in the dock and appeared to understand everything that was put to her. 

Matters have been further complicated by Banks initially telling her legal team she didn’t wish to appeal, but then changing her mind.

She had pursued the appeal “notwithstanding she told (her solicitors) she wasn’t pursuing it” and was now in the process of transferring legal aid to a new team of solicitors.

If her legal aid application is granted, it would mean her costs being covered at least partly by public money.

Banks has “messed everyone around” for 18 months

Mr Bosomworth said there had been an issue between Banks and her present solicitors and she was “awaiting legal aid to be transferred”.

He said it was the Crown’s case that Banks had “messed everyone around for the last 18 months” and that the prosecution would “invite the court to consider the matter on the basis she is just not co-operating”. 

He added that any order made today in terms of benefit and confiscation amount would “inevitably” be challenged by Banks who, as things stood, did not have any legal representation.

Mr Bosomworth said it was incumbent on Banks to submit a statement to the court showing her assets and “what the issues are”, but she had not yet served one.

When Recorder Mr Baird asked Banks if she understood what had been said and that she must submit a statement, she said she did and that she had “messed up quite a lot” during the legal case.

At the previous hearing in January, the Crown said it was not yet in a position to make a financial confiscation ruling because Banks’s defence team needed more time to delve into her “complicated” accounts and extensive “property empire”.

Leeds Crown Court. Picture: the Stray Ferret.

Banks’s then defence counsel said that a forensic accountant had been instructed to scrutinise her accounts and the “considerable amount” of properties and other assets she owned. 

Mr Recorder Baird adjourned the confiscation proceedings until July 29. 

He said: 

“These are important matters for Mrs Banks. There’s a lot of money at stake here and I take the view that she should be legally represented.”

Banks was ‘facilitator’ in cannabis racket

At the sentence hearing in August 2021, the court heard that the “professional”, London-based gang had invested tens of thousands of pounds into three cannabis factories at Banks’s properties on Alexandra Road, Woodlands Road and Somerset Road near Harrogate town centre.

The criminals had even dug a trench outside the three-storey Edwardian villa on Alexandra Road through which they fed electricity cables to the house to power the “highly sophisticated” cultivation system and bypass the electricity grid.

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Their plot finally unravelled when police were called to the five-bedroom villa on September 26, 2020, after reports of a “disturbance” in the street involving what appeared to be two rival gangs vying for the cannabis farm.

Banks had rented her properties to the Albanians through an “unidentified individual who goes by the name of Francesco”, who sub-let the houses to the gang’s ringleader Sellaj.

The total potential yield of the cannabis factories was valued at up to £456,000, not including previous harvests.

Although Banks was not involved in the cultivation, she had played a “facilitating” or advisory role in the plot and was constantly “pressing (the gang) be paid by them”.

Banks – who had previous convictions for health-and-safety offences through her work – was due to be paid at least £12,000 a month in rent for the three properties and was also receiving “high” deposits.  

Pinewoods Conservation Group has urged people to report anti-social behaviour after rough sleepers and drugs were found in the woodland.

Pictures seen by the Stray Ferret show Harrogate Borough Council staff moving a tent, which had been set up in the woods.

Inside the tents were drug paraphernalia and rubbish left in the woodland, including food and sleeping bags.

Other pictures showed graffiti defacing the Pinewoods map.

The graffiti on the Pinewoods map.

The borough council and North Yorkshire Police were both alerted to the rough sleepers this month.

The tents were later moved, however the Stray Ferret understands the process took longer than expected due to the availability of council street cleansing teams.

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A man in the 96-acre woodland was detained by police last week after residents reported gunshots being fired. But he was later released without charge.

A spokesperson for the Pinewoods Conservation Group said it had reported a number of anti-social behaviour incidents in recent months.

They said:

“Whilst the recent reported incident fortunately didn’t materialise into anything serious we are still asking our members and visitors to report anything suspicious and any anti-social behaviour to the police via 101, or 999 if an emergency, and Harrogate council customer services. 

“We have reported a number of incidents in recent months from graffiti, illegal campers, groups congregating and setting fires plus clear evidence of drug use. It is only with the help of others we can continue to keep the Pinewoods a safe and enjoyable area for the community.”

A council spokesperson said: 

“We have accommodation and support available for all rough sleepers.

“Once we are made aware of someone sleeping rough in the Harrogate district, our housing options team work in partnership with the police and partner agencies in an attempt to persuade them to accept support.

“We have hostels in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough and have most recently opened Fern House in Starbeck, our purpose-built temporary accommodation with 19 self-contained bedrooms. Additional to this, we can offer a complete support package for individuals who are homeless which includes health and wellbeing, support for any mental health issues, financial guidance as well as any further advice or information they may require.

“As a result of this holistic approach it means that we can try to identify the cause of each individual’s circumstances in a bid to help them find permanent secure accommodation.”

North Yorkshire Police has released CCTV images of a man thought to have information about a burglary at a home in Harrogate.

The burglary took place on Fawcett Drive in Harrogate at about 2am on Friday, May 6.

A man is reported to have entered a property and removed a wallet and cash. No further details have been released.

Police are asking members of the public to get in touch if they recognise the man in the images as they believe he could have information that will help the investigation.

Further CCTV images released by police of the man they want to talk to.

You can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for PC 950 Fitzsimons or email leah.fitzsimons@northyorkshire.police.uk.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The crime reference number 12220076667.

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Thieves attempted to break into the Harrogate Marks & Spencer store on Cambridge Street on Friday night.

It follows other town centre businesses reporting similar incidents to the police in recent months.

Burglars raided Browns jewellers in January, which is close to M&S on nearby Beulah Street.

Last week, the antiques shop 27 West Park was also targeted over night, but thieves left empty-handed after they failed to get in.

An M&S spokesperson said:

“We are supporting the police with their investigations into an attempted break-in at our Harrogate store on Friday night.”

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North Yorkshire Police has arrested two teenage males after it published an appeal yesterday about a robbery on Harrogate’s Hookstone Chase.

The two males are also being questioned about a further alleged robbery that took place on Wentworth Drive in Harrogate on the same night.

The first alleged incident, on Hookstone Chase, is said to have happened at around 6pm on Tuesday, May 17. The Wentworth Drive incident followed at 10.30pm.

The two males are in custody. Police said they are assisting officers with their enquiries.

Yesterday, police published an appeal for two teenage white males wearing grey tracksuits.

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A North Yorkshire Police officer pleaded guilty today to making 8,707 indecent images of children over seven years.

Christopher Groom was charged with making the Category C indecent photographs over a seven-year period between December, 3 2014 and November, 14 2021.

Groom, who was a serving officer at the time, was suspended and arrested on December 16, 2021, and had his computer and phone examined.

At today’s hearing at Leeds Magistrates’ Court, prosecutor Angela Terenzini said there was no evidence he had distributed the images.

Groom, of Main Street, Claxton, Malton, will be sentenced on June 14. He received unconditional bail.

North Yorkshire Police has said it will make a formal response when the case is concluded.

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A Harrogate man has been sentenced to four years in prison after police officers stopped him during a drug deal on Knaresborough Road.

Ben Michael Hargreaves, of Dragon Avenue, was sentenced at York Crown Court yesterday for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs.

The 42-year-old’s sentencing comes after an 18-month investigation by North Yorkshire Police’s Harrogate Operation Expedite Team.

On September 9, 2020, officers spotted a man leaving a vehicle on Knaresborough Road in Harrogate and suspected he had purchased drugs from the driver.

The man was found to be in possession of cocaine. Officers then stopped the vehicle and detained the driver, Hargreaves.

Officers found a quantity of cocaine in the car and following a roadside drug wipe, Hargreaves tested positive for cannabis. He was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and supplying drugs.

At his home address police found more cocaine and digital microscales. His phone was also examined which revealed a large amount of drugs related content and showed him organising the importation of drugs from the United States, as well as discussions about evading customs and border control.

The drugs seized from Hargreaves were valued at around £1,500 if sold at street level. As well as the four-year sentence he was disqualified from driving for five years.

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Detective Sergeant Peachman, from the North Yorkshire Police Harrogate Operation Expedite Team, said:

“Hargreaves has received a significant custodial sentence at York Crown Court and this sentence reflects the severity of his offending and the extent of it.

“He was found to be supplying a Class A drug on the streets of Harrogate and the impact of this offence should not be underestimated. The knock-on effects of increased criminality to fund drug addictions creates misery for those trapped in the cycle of addiction and those people who live in their communities. Hargreaves was financially profiting from that misery and exploiting the addictions of his customers for his own greed.”

Police have arrested three men after reports of a trailer theft from a compound near Boroughbridge.

Officers from North Yorkshire Police were called at 9.20pm last night after suspects were seen breaking into the compound and making off with the trailer.

The force used number plate recognition to locate the Land Rover Discovery off the A1(M).

The car was stopped by police off junction 45 after it attempted to make a U-turn.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said:

“Security cameras at the premises picked up a partial registration number of the vehicle, a Land Rover Discovery, and within minutes it was located by police on the A1(M) heading south. The Land Rover began to make a u-turn in the carriageway, but officers quickly managed to bring it to a stop just after junction 45.

“Three occupants, all men in their 30s, were arrested at the scene, on suspicion of theft, dangerous driving, and failing to stop for police. They remain in custody at this time. The trailer will be returned to its rightful owner.”

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A prolific offender who threatened people with a knife and tried to stab a man in Ripon with an eight-inch blade has been jailed for two years.

Christopher Dalton, 39, brandished the blade at an address in Ripon, where his former partner and others were terrorised by the knife-wielding thug who was waving the blade around while shouting threats, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Rob Galley said that on the night before the incident, Dalton had been sending threatening Facebook messages to a named man who he believed was in a relationship with his ex-partner.

Dalton had messaged him asking to meet up for a fight, telling him:

“About time we had it out. I’m going to do you with a knife.”

The following day, he went to the address in Cedar Close armed with the eight-inch blade. 

He jumped off his bike outside the property, then pulled out the knife and shouted: 

“Come on, let’s have it out!”

Bear hug restraint

He then walked up to his former partner, who was outside the property, and pointed the knife at her, before “waving it around in front of her face”. 

He then shouted abuse at the woman and told her “I’ll fxxxxxx kill you”.

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Her male friend or partner, who went to her aid, was said to be in “genuine fear for his life”.

As one of the other named men at the scene tried to put him in a bear hug, Dalton tried to stab him. 

He and three of the other people present managed to restrain Dalton, who was “flinging his arms around, with the knife (pointed) towards them”, said Mr Galley.

Police turned up but Dalton, who was drunk and on drugs, continued swearing and shouting threats. As he was cuffed and led away by police, he shouted to two of the named males:

“You’re fxxxxxx dead.”

He then turned to his former partner and shouted:

“I’ll smash your mum’s house.”

51 previous convictions

He was charged with affray, carrying an offensive weapon and sending threatening messages intending to cause stress or anxiety to the male victim.

Dalton, of Westgate, Ripon, admitted all three offences and appeared for sentence via video link today (Monday, May 16) after being remanded in custody. 

York Crown Court.

Ismael Uddin, mitigating, said Dalton had been drinking and taking drugs when he sent the threatening Facebook messages the night before the incident on April 18.

He said the “catalyst” for Dalton’s shocking behaviour was that he thought his former partner was in a relationship with this man.  

Mr Galley said Dalton had 51 previous convictions for 88 offences dating back more than 20 years, including violence, theft and public disorder. 

His “appalling” record also included two previous convictions for carrying an offensive weapon in public, ostensibly golf clubs. He was recently given a short prison sentence for a series of shop thefts in Ripon.

Judge Nicholas Lavender QC told Dalton: 

“You intended to cause fear of serious violence and you caused serious fear. You were carrying a knife and came close to stabbing someone with it.

“Your offending is so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.”

Jailing Dalton for two years, Mr Lavender QC said he presented “a danger to others”.

Dalton was also handed a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting the male victim and going within 100 metres of an address in Ripon. 

Antiques shops and dealers are being urged to be vigilant after an attempted burglary of a shop in Harrogate this week.

The shop at 27 West Park was targeted between 6pm on Tuesday and 6am on Wednesday this week, when a culprit or culprits attempted to enter via a side window but did not gain access.

A shop on Main Street in Hawes was also targeted in the early hours of today. Between 1.10am and 1.20am, a main broke into a shop on Main Street and stole items from inside.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“As a precaution, shops and businesses — particularly those dealing in antiques — are urged to be vigilant, and check their security measures. You can contact your local neighbourhood policing team for bespoke crime prevention advice.

“Officers are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the two incidents.

“In particular, we are appealing for residents and businesses to check any CCTV systems or doorbell cameras that may have captured footage of suspects or any vehicles driving away from the areas.”

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The suspect in the Hawes burglary is described as around 5ft 6ins to 5ft 7ins in height, of skinny build and wearing black clothing with a lower face covering. Police have not issued a description of a suspect in the Harrogate attempted burglary.

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation at Harrogate can email ian.mason@northyorkshire.police.uk, quoting reference number 12220079988.

For the Hawes investigation, email heather.campbell@northyorkshire.police.uk, quoting reference number 12220080576.

Alternatively, call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and speak to the force control room, giving the relevant reference number. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.