A barman at a well-known pub in Ripon has been jailed for over three years for dealing cocaine and cannabis from his living quarters.

Jay Goodall, 29, a heavily convicted felon, was arrested at the South Lodge pub on Harrogate Road after police searched his bedroom and found about £3,000 of cocaine, cannabis and benzocaine, York Crown Court heard.

Police found all manner of drug paraphernalia inside his room including digital weighing scales – which Goodall claimed were for baking cakes.

He was brought in for questioning and initially claimed the drugs were for personal use.

Prosecutor Kelly Clarke said that would be impossible because it would have meant he had a £1,750-a-week drug habit on a £400 weekly wage.

Goodall was charged with possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply and admitted both offences. He appeared for sentence via video link today after being remanded in custody.

Ms Clarke said police executed the search warrant at South Lodge on February 9 after receiving a tip-off that someone was potentially dealing drugs at the hotel owing to a “strong smell of cannabis” emanating from the staff quarters.

Police at the scene on February 9.

An officer turned up at the newly refurbished pub – one of the largest and most prominent in the area – as Goodall parked his vehicle in the car park. He was detained in the communal bar area.

Ms Clarke said police noted a “strong smell of cannabis (coming) from the living quarters upstairs”.

Officers followed the smell to Goodall’s bedroom where they found a “large quantity” of suspected cocaine in various snap bags and boxes.

They also found two plastic boxes and a black safe full of dealer bags. One of the boxes contained a pestle, used for grinding substances, on which police found “remnants of Class A drugs”.

They also found a large bag containing 330 grammes of benzocaine, a cutting agent used to bulk up drugs which can also be used as a painkiller.

Inside Goodall’s wardrobe was a black balaclava, two zip bags full of cannabis, the digital weighing scales and a box for an air pistol, although no weapon was found inside.

Ms Clarke said:

“He said the drugs were for his own personal use and (that he) had consumed around three-and-a-half grammes per day.

“He said the scales were for when he baked cakes.”

The estimated value of the drugs stash, including the benzocaine, was about £3,000.

Police also seized two mobile phones – one from inside a rucksack in the wardrobe and one from Goodall’s car – but Goodall failed to provide officers with the PIN numbers to enable them to analyse his messages.

Racial offences

The prosecution outlined Goodall’s criminal record which included several convictions for racially aggravated harassment and criminal damage, as well as assaulting an emergency worker and a previous conviction for dealing cannabis.

Other previous convictions included driving while unfit through drink or drugs, battery and sending malicious communications.

He received a nine-month suspended prison sentence for possession with intent to supply cannabis in Leeds in 2021.

In July last year he received another suspended jail sentence for yet more racially aggravated offences. The new offences in Ripon put him in breach of that 16-week suspended prison term.

Goodall’s solicitor advocate Stephen Smithson said the former barman was a drug addict but “there’s no suggestion (that he had conducted) this criminality for the sake of his own addiction”.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Goodall:

“You were caught red-handed in your place of work and residence, and you had the full paraphernalia for drug-dealing in your room. It’s quite clear this was determined drug-dealing.

“You should have learnt your lesson (following the previous conviction for dealing drugs). You haven’t.”

He told Goodall he had a “bad record for unpleasant” offences including ones with a racial undertone.

Goodall was jailed for three years and seven months for possession with intent to supply cocaine and breaching the suspended sentence. There was no separate penalty for dealing cannabis.

Read more:

• Man admits supplying cocaine after police raid at Ripon pub 
• Two arrested following drugs bust at Ripon’s South Lodge 
• Cannabis farm with nearly 500 plants found in Harrogate

Police in Harrogate have made six arrests – including a 15-year-old boy – during a national week of action to target County Lines drug dealing. 

North Yorkshire Police made a total of 26 arrests across the county, seizing cash, suspected drugs, mobile phones and weapons including two machetes, three samurai swords, two knuckledusters and a pistol.

The week of action took place from Monday, October 9 to Sunday 15 and was coordinated by the National County Lines Coordination Centre.

Across the county, officers executed 14 warrants, seized over £70,000 in cash suspected to be linked to criminality, as well as several class A, B and C drugs, including 1-2 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of £70,000 from one vehicle in Scarborough. 

Teams from across the force carried out proactive enforcement against people with suspected links to drugs offences, as well as patrols at rail and bus stations with a specialist drugs dog. 

A plain-clothes police officer on a County Lines drugs raid.

Harrogate arrests

In Harrogate, the County Lines Intensification Week saw five incidents result in arrests.

In one, police stopped a vehicle on Cheltenham Parade and searched a 24-year-old man. They found 10 bags of compressed white powder, a knuckleduster, scales, cash and four mobile phones. He was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a class-A drug, interviewed and released under investigation. 

In a separate incident, officers from the force’s Expedite Team witnessed a suspected drug deal taking place on Albany Avenue in Harrogate and arrested a 27-year-old man for being concerned in the supply of a class-A drug. He was interviewed and released under investigation. 

British Transport Police arrested a 15-year-old boy for theft and being concerned in the supply of a class-A drug and a class-B drug. A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a class-A drug and class-B drug. Both were released on conditional bail. 

Acting on a tip-off, North Yorkshire Police investigated suspicious activity taking place at a property linked to the supply of drugs. They searched a 36-year-old man and found class-A drugs, scales and a mobile phone.

The man was ultimately charged with eight offences relating to the possession and supply of cocaine, heroin and cannabis and remanded in custody to appear at York Magistrates’ Court. 

Finally, officers from the force’s Operation Expedite team stopped a vehicle on Church Lane in Harrogate that had been identified as being linked to drug supply. They arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of drug driving and entering the UK illegally. He was released under investigation for the driving offence and passed to immigration officials to be dealt with. 

Safeguarding

County Lines takes its name from the mobile phone lines used by dealers to communicate between towns and advertise drugs for sale. Vulnerable people – including children – are forced to deal drugs and dealers will often use local properties as a base for their activities; this is often acquired by force and referred to as ‘cuckooing’. 

As part of the week of action, proactive safeguarding and welfare checks were conducted at hotels and bed and breakfasts where vulnerable people are known to be living. In total, officers safeguarded 73 people who are known or suspected to be vulnerable to county lines exploitation. 

The force also held County Lines drop-in stalls in public areas for engagement within communities and members of the public. 

Read more:

• Police seize £100,000 cash in crackdown on Harrogate ‘county lines’; drug dealing
• Police arrest five in Harrogate as part of national county lines action
• 18 charged with county lines drug dealing in Harrogate

Detective chief inspector Andrew Simpson, who led the initiative for North Yorkshire Police, said: 

“Last week’s targeted activity demonstrates how we are working tirelessly to disrupt the supply of illegal drugs and protect the young and vulnerable in our communities who are exploited by them. 

“It’s important to stress that this is just one week’s activity, and this type of disruption and safeguarding is taking place in communities across North Yorkshire all year round. 

“As a force we are committed to cutting these County Lines and to protecting vulnerable people. But we cannot do this alone, our work with partners is important and we also need the support of the public.  

“It’s vital that everyone who cares for or knows young and vulnerable people understands the issue and knows the warning signs.” 

Children

To help raise awareness among children, the force worked with Christina Gabbitas, the popular children’s author of the No More Knives and Trapped by County Lines campaigns, to deliver talks alongside neighbourhood policing officers in several schools across the county. 

Christina said: 

“After the success of working together with North Yorkshire Police, I was commissioned to write a sequel story Trapped in County Lines. 

“The story aims to educate children and young people on the dangers of becoming involved with county lines through the power of storytelling. 

“Children and young people can sadly be victims of exploitation from organised crime groups. County Lines is a harsh reality of life, and in my opinion shouldn’t be sugar coated.”

Police found £100,000 in cash as part of a week of action targeting county lines drug dealing around Harrogate.

The discovery was made at a property in Leeds, which was raided along with three others in the city and in Kirk Deighton, to disrupt links to Harrogate.

County lines crime sees organised gangs target vulnerable people, such as drug users, people with mental or physical disabilities, sex workers, or single mothers. They are often victims of ‘cuckooing’, where the gangs take over their homes and use them as a base for dealing drugs across county borders.

North Yorkshire Police tackles the issue under its Operation Expedite unit and, as part of a National Crime Agency initiative, carried out a “week of intensification” at the beginning of March.

As well as the cash recovered, it saw three people arrested for offences relating to drug dealing and handling criminal property. All three – two men aged 19 and 41, and a woman aged 26 – have since been released under investigation.

A 32-year-old who attended a police interview voluntarily was released with a warning for possession of cannabis.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Simpson, who coordinated the week of activity in North Yorkshire, said:

 “County lines drug dealing is a major priority for North Yorkshire Police, so much so that we have teams who are focused full-time on disrupting drug dealing activity.

“Although last week’s activity is part of a national week of intensification, it is indicative of the activity going on across North Yorkshire all of the time.

“The fact that we have safeguarded 70 people in one week shows our commitment to protect vulnerable people who have been or are at risk of being exploited by dealers.

“I would urge anyone with information about drug dealing in their community to call us on 101; we treat every piece of information as important.”

To report information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Any young person worried about being targeted by county lines gangs can call Childline in confidence on 0800 1111.

Read more:

• ‘If you swim with sharks, you get bitten,’ judge tells Harrogate cocaine dealer
• Photos show how Albanian drugs gang transformed Harrogate home into cannabis farm

Two drug dealers have been jailed after being caught with thousands of pounds worth of cocaine in Harrogate.

Angel Angelov and Tsonko Peev, both 25 and from Leeds, were sent to prison after pleading guilty to possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

On the afternoon of November 10 last year, officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite team, which tackles county lines drug dealing, stopped a vehicle on its way to Harrogate from Leeds.

The driver, Angelov, was searched, and found with 26 bags of cocaine in a mint tin and a lock knife.

Some of the cocaine seized by North Yorkshire Police.

As the investigation continued, officers stopped another vehicle on Leeds Road in Harrogate on December 5. Inside were Angelov and Peev. 

This time, Angelov was found with 20 bags of cocaine hidden in the lining of his coat, and a further 11 bags were found hidden by the handbrake.

Read more:

• Cyclist seriously injured in collision with van near Weeton
• Police urge drivers to ‘put their phones away’ after Ripon Snapchat death

Both were charged and pleaded guilty at York Crown Court yesterday (February 7) to the offences.

Angelov was sentenced to five years and three months in prison. Meanwhile, Peev was jailed for two years and three months.

PC George Frost, from the Operation Expedite team, said: 

“Following a swift investigation, two drug dealers have been taken off the streets of Harrogate, along with thousands of pounds worth of Class A drugs.

“Dealers like Angelov and Peev seek to exploit the vulnerabilities of users and their addictions for their own selfish financial gain. The effects of drug dealing and drug use are felt far and wide, leading to violence, anti-social behaviour and acquisitive crime.

“I hope the people of Harrogate and wider North Yorkshire feel reassured by the result of the investigation and the jail sentences. We are committed to protecting the vulnerable in our communities, and are working night and day to keep drug dealers out of the area.”

A man from Bradford has been jailed for 30 months after pleading guilty to supplying Class A drugs in Harrogate’s Library Gardens.

Shaoib Shafiq, 20, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, were stopped on September 26, 2020, after reports of drug dealing.

The 16-year-old had 110 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine hidden in his underwear and Shafiq had a Nokia burner-style mobile phone with a pre-pay SIM card that was used as the drugs line.

The pair were sentenced at York Crown Court on Wednesday.

Shafiq was jailed for 30 months and the boy was handed a community order, unpaid work and a rehabilitation requirement.

Shafiq and the teenager travelled to Harrogate from Bradford together and were in regular contact several days before their arrest.

Read more:

• Knaresborough man jailed for ‘punishment beating’ of ex-partner
• Prolific Harrogate criminal jailed after hospital rampage

PC Chris Dyson said:

“Drug dealing has a hugely damaging effect on communities and destroys lives.

“These two individuals thought they could come into North Yorkshire and deal Class A drugs, but we showed them different.

“We work hard to target those who insist on bringing misery to communities and we will not stop making sure those who commit this type of crime are brought to the courts.”

A drug dealer posing as an Uber taxi driver has been jailed for over two years after dealing drugs in Harrogate in a liveried cab.

Azar Iqbal Rehman, 51, was arrested by police in the Asda car park in Harrogate where he had been loitering in the ‘taxi’, York Crown Court heard.

When police approached the vehicle and tried to confiscate the car keys, the fake cabbie tried to drive off, said prosecutor John Hobley.

Officers searched the vehicle and found 72 cocaine bags and 20 MDMA packets, as well as £710 cash.

Rehman, a married father-of-five who worked as a lorry driver, told officers there were “more drugs at his home”, added Mr Hobley.

Police searched his house and found a further 126 cocaine packets hidden in a lock box inside his bedroom and more cash.

Mr Hobley said the total amount of drugs seized was 85g of cocaine and over 6g of MDMA, an ecstasy-type drug, with an estimated street value of more than £17,000.

Rehman, of Rhodesway, Bradford, was charged with two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply and one count of possessing criminal property, namely £1,255 cash.

He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence on Tuesday.

‘Half-hearted’ escape attempt

Mr Hobley said Rehman was caught in December 2019 when two officers in an unmarked car became suspicious when they saw the Uber ‘cab’ parked some distance from the entrance to the supermarket. Their suspicions were heightened when it didn’t move for over 20 minutes.

When they approached the vehicle, which was “liveried as an Uber taxi”, Rehman “appeared nervous”.

He was removed from the vehicle after his “half-hearted” attempt at escape.

Read more:

• Police investigate Wetherby Road building site theft
• Harrogate man jailed for ‘despicable’ pictures of extremely young child

Along with the drugs and cash, officers found a mobile phone inside the vehicle, which had a “stream of text messages containing addresses”.

They also found a “dealer debt list”, said Mr Hobley.

Rehman told police he had been dealing for about four months under direction from others.

He claimed he had been paid £150 a week by his drug bosses, but a financial investigation found that £6,000 had been deposited into his bank account during the four months he had been dealing.

Addicted to cocaine

George Hazel-Owram, mitigating, said Rehman had never been in trouble before and started dealing after becoming addicted to cocaine and running up a debt to his own suppliers.

However, he conceded that although there was a “degree of pressure” from those higher up the chain, it “fell far short of duress”.

Rehman had been “directed to drive to certain addresses to deliver drugs”, added the barrister.

He said Rehman had worked “throughout his adult life”, lately as a HGV driver but “predominantly” as a bus driver.

Judge Simon Hickey said Rehman had clearly made a “substantial amount of cash” from his drug enterprise.

He said the fact that Rehman was making drug deliveries in an Uber ‘taxi’ was an aggravating factor as he was “operating under the guise of a taxi to deal drugs on the street”.

He said the police investigation debunked Rehman’s claim that he was only dealing to pay off a drug debt.

He told Rehman:

“You must understand that anybody who deals in Class A drugs is dealing in a pernicious, revolting drug because it causes death (and) misery.”

He said although it was Rehman’s “first foray” into drug-dealing and he had family commitments, it could only be an immediate jail sentence.

Rehman was jailed for two years and eight months. He will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Eighteen people are due to appear in court in Harrogate charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement this evening that four of the 18 have also been charged with human trafficking of young people.

The charges relate to Operation Jackal, an investigation into county lines drug dealing between Harrogate and Bradford.

The accused are due to appear at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on October 7 and 21.

‘County lines’ refers to drug dealers in towns and cities establishing supply chains in rural areas, often using young and vulnerable people to carry, store, and sell drugs.

The charges follow a policing operation in Bradford and Harrogate last year involving North Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Police, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, the National Crime Agency and the National County Lines Coordination Centre.

Read more:

• Harrogate man:’My whole life has been consumed by drugs’
• Man died in Harrogate swallowing suspected drugs he was hiding from police

People caught drug dealing in Harrogate venues face 18 month bans in a new list of sanctions that comes into force today.

Harrogate Pubwatch, which represents 38 licensed venues in town, has updated its list of ban tariffs.

The tariffs state how long people caught offending in one venue face being banned from all venues that take part in the scheme.

Members of Harrogate Pubwatch, which includes pubs such as Wetherspoon and Christies Bar as well as hotel bars such as The Crown and the Cedar Court Hotel, share information and photos of troublemakers on an app.

They then have a week to vote on what action to take, with the ban tariffs acting as a guide.

Acts of violence carry a 24-month ban, sexual harassment has a nine-month ban and possession of weapons carries a life ban. Eleven people currently have life bans.

Acts of violence against venue staff, which carries a 30-month ban, has been introduced as a new category following a recent increase in incidents.

Alan Huddart, vice-chair of Harrogate Pubwatch and treasurer of Bilton Working Men’s Club, said there had been four attacks on venue staff in town since pubs reopened after lockdown.

Mr Huddart said he wasn’t sure why staff were being attacked more but the app had proved effective in taking collaborative action to keep venues safe. He said:

“At the moment we have a total of 46 people banned. There have been as many as over 100 previously.

“You could argue that lockdown has been responsible for the number declining but increasing the profile of Harrogate Pubwatch has been effective.”

Harrogate Pubwatch holds quarterly meetings with police representatives.

Harrogate Business Improvement District contributed £2,000 towards the Harrogate Pubwatch app.

Read more:

• Harrogate Pubwatch relaunches to keep out town’s troublemakers
• Harrogate BID launches new town centre app to help businesses