Drug pushers jailed after £140,000 cannabis seizure in Boroughbridge

Two drug pushers who were caught with 14 kilos of cannabis worth £140,000 have been jailed for two years.

Silvio Kondi, 30, and Flamur Saliasi, 45, were travelling in a Mercedes E-Class which was stopped on the A1(M) at Boroughbridge on September 30 last year, York Crown Court heard.

A search of the vehicle revealed a huge cannabis stash with an estimated street value of £140,000 and about £1,300 cash.

Kondi, from Leeds, and Saliasi were charged with possessing a Class B drug with intent to supply.

They admitted the offences but on the basis that they were only couriers. This was rejected by the prosecution at the plea hearing in October and the case was adjourned for a Newton hearing, or trial of issue, today (Tuesday, February 8).

However, the case proceeded straight to sentence after the prosecution and defence counsel agreed that Kondi and Saliasi’s role in the drugs racket was more likely to be “significant” rather than “leading”.

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The prosecution contended that both men had close ties to the “original source” of the supply chain and therefore played a “significant” role.

Annie Richardson, for the Crown, said the Mercedes was stopped in the middle of the afternoon but only for a routine check.

She added: 

“Police found various items including vacuum packs of cannabis, uncounted cash and mobile telephones.”

There were 14 vacuum packs weighing one kilo each. A drug expert estimated the total street value to be £140,000.

Albanian interpreter

The cash found included £1,186 in pounds sterling, just over £111 in Euros and small amounts of Macedonian, Albanian and Czech currency. 

The two men were hauled in for questioning but refused to answer police questions. They appeared for sentence on Tuesday accompanied by an Albanian interpreter. 

Robert Mochrie, for Kondi, asked the judge to take account of his client’s timely guilty plea.

Kelleigh Lodge, for Saliasi, said her client had only arrived in the UK last year – just months before his arrest. 

Since then, his wife had returned to their native Albania and Saliasi was “extremely keen” to join her once he had been released from prison.

Ms Lodge said Saliasi had already signed forms with immigration authorities for his deportation.

Kondi, of Tong Road, and Saliasi, of no fixed address, were each jailed for two years. They will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence. 

Chief constable says maximum council tax rise will enable crime prevention

North Yorkshire Police’s chief constable has sought to justify the force’s precept increase, saying it will enable officers to avert offences impacting on communities rather than just react to it.

Lisa Winward said the addition of £10 to a Band D property’s council tax bill would enable the force to get on the front foot and interupt what she described as “a conveyor belt” of issues caused by a minority of residents.

Ms Winward was speaking to North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime panel as it unanimously agreed that the average household should be charged £281.06 for the service for the coming financial year.

Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe had told the meeting if she did not levy the £10 maximum increase in council tax precept for the coming year that money would be lost to the force in future years, adding she was “very mindful” of the financial pressures facing residents.

She said the increased precept would cover the rising costs the force was facing and pay for an additional 78 police officers, some of whom would be deployed to improve public contact, solve issues facing communities, roads policing and tackling violence towards women and online abuse.

Ms Metcalfe said: 

“The precept increase will also allow me to invest in a range of services for victims, and in particular, a new victims’ centre to house the North Yorkshire Sexual Assault Assessment Centre and the child sexual assault assessment services in York.

“I will also hold the chief constable to account to ensure a full return on investment. I will be setting clear performance expectations to the chief constable to make North Yorkshire Police more efficient.”

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However, City of York Council leader Cllr Keith Aspden highlighted the precept increase was higher than crisis-hit social care authorities were being allowed to levy, and questioned whether communities would “notice the difference that really justifies that increase” the new posts.

The meeting heard the increased precept would fund the force’s Early Action Together programme, which is focused on supporting the most vulnerable residents with complex needs to “prevent harm before it happens”.

Ms Winward said policing tended to deal with society’s symptoms and longer term problem-solving had to come from a placed-based bespoke approach.

She said: 

“A lot of the calls that we receive are cyclical. So the same people with the same problems who haven’t had the root causes of their problems solved by any agency.

“Once somebody is hurt or harmed or a community is damaged it takes a lot of time and effort and work among a lot of public services to try and put that thing right. If we can prevent it from happening in the first place that is a much more effective way of our public services supporting those communities.”

Ms Winward said with 6,000 miles of roads across a county which is a popular destination for some motorists, such as motorcyclists, extra resources were needed for preventative measures to tackle road safety and criminals from outside the county targeting North Yorkshire.

Cllr Mike Chambers said while he understood the reasons behind the increase, he was concerned the commissioner was levying the maximum rise given the economic circumstances facing residents.

Calling for more warranted officers to be seen on the beat, he said: 

“I think this time we really do need to see some early and discernible results in what the public are paying for.”

Thief jailed after ramming BMW to steal £7k caravan in Masham

A prolific thief has been jailed for stealing a £7,000 caravan in Masham after ramming the owner’s BMW out of the way.

Aaron Drummond, 23, was in a Toyota bearing false plates which was smashed into the BMW to shunt it out of the way of the caravan parked in a yard on Leyburn Road in the town.

Drummond and another man got out of the Toyota and smashed the front windscreen to get to the handbrake which they released, prosecutor Brooke Morrison told York Crown Court.

The thieves tried to push the BMW away from the Sterling Cullen Europa caravan and when this didn’t work, they got back inside the Toyota and rammed the car out of the way.

Ms Morrison said:

“They then hitched the caravan to their own vehicle and drove from the scene.”

The owner, who was named in court, was driving past his property at about 9.15pm on September 19, 2020, when he saw his BMW parked at a “strange angle” in the yard. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the front window had been smashed and a dent to the vehicle. The caravan had disappeared.

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The theft was captured on CCTV and the Toyota and caravan were later spotted on Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. Police identified Drummond from the footage and he was subsequently arrested.

Drummond – whose last known address was Sadberge Road, Stockton-on-Tees – refused to answer police questions but ultimately admitted stealing the caravan and damaging the BMW. He appeared for sentence via video link on Monday after being recalled to prison.

Breach of suspended sentences

Ms Morrison said the offences put Drummond in breach of two suspended prison sentences – one imposed in April 2020 for making off without payment and driving while disqualified, and another in May of that year for aggravated vehicle-taking and driving while disqualified again.

In November 2020, he was jailed for over two years at Teesside Crown Court for a plethora of offences including six burglaries, going equipped, dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle-taking, criminal damage and driving while disqualified.  

Drummond’s long criminal history included 18 previous convictions for 69 offences – 20 of them for theft and kindred.

Kelleigh Lodge, for Drummond, said the father-of-one had mental-health problems at the time of his crime spree and was taking unprescribed tablets.

Judge Deborah Sherwin said it was obvious there had been a “fair degree of planning” to the caravan raid and that Drummond and his cohort had driven from their home area to Masham on false plates.

Jailing Drummond for 18 months, she told him:

“You have offended over many years.”

Drummond will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence. 

Police close busy Knaresborough road due to storm damage

Update: Bond End is now open to traffic once again.

Police have closed Bond End in Knaresborough due to structural problems at a building next to the road caused by strong winds this afternoon.

Firefighters from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue are on scene trying to remedy the issue.

Pictures from the police show guttering close to falling. It is unclear if there are any other issues with the building.

Traffic Alert: Bond End in #Knaresborough is currently closed in both directions. Our colleagues at @NorthYorksFire are currently dealing with a structural problem. The road is expected to be closed for the next 30 minutes. Traffic around #Knaresborough is currently building. pic.twitter.com/UE123Y0pt3

— North Yorkshire Police (@NYorksPolice) February 5, 2022

North Yorkshire Police tweeted at 12pm that the road is due to open to traffic again at 12.30pm.

Traffic is Knaresborough is currently building. Avoid the area if you can.

E-scooter rider in Harrogate arrested for suspected drug dealing

Police arrested a man on an e-scooter in Harrogate this week on suspicion of dealing cannabis and ketamine.

According to North Yorkshire Police, the man failed to stop when asked by officers on Monday night.

Two officers found drugs after catching up with the man, who was then arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A and class B drugs.

A police statement today added:

“Once in custody, tests showed him to be under the influence of drugs, so he was further arrested for a further offence of driving whilst under the influence.

“He’s now been released on conditional bail whilst enquiries continue.”

E-scooters are similar to regular scooters but have small, electric motors.

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Emergency services rescue ‘man in distress’ from scaffolding in Harrogate

Police and firefighters rescued a “man in distress” who climbed scaffolding in Harrogate last night.

A concerned eyewitness called the police when they saw the man make his way to the top of the three-storey building next to Harrogate Homeless Project on Bower Street.

Officers attended the incident at around 7pm and managed to convince him to make his way back to the ground after about an hour of negotiations.

The man, who has not been named, was then taken to Harrogate District Hospital for treatment and support.

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A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“North Yorkshire Police received a report of a man in distress who had climbed scaffolding on Bower Street in Harrogate just before 7pm yesterday.

“Officers attended and spoke to the man, who came back down at about 8pm. He was taken to hospital to receive the support and treatment he needs.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:

“Fire crews from Harrogate along with the aerial ladder platform attended an incident to assist police and paramedics with a male, who was left in their care.”

School bus involved in minor collision in Harrogate district

A school bus was involved in a minor collision this morning in the Harrogate district.

The incident involving students from Harrogate Grammar School happened on the A658 Harrogate Road, close to Leathley Farm Shop and Cafe at about 8am.

No children were hurt.

The incident led to rush hour delays from Pool-in-Wharfedale to Huby.

A Harrogate Grammar School spokeswoman confirmed three children were on the bus at the time and that none sustained injuries.

The spokeswoman described the incident as a “mild shunt” and said the bus company acted promptly to get the children safely to school.

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The Stray Ferret understands the crash involved one other vehicle.

North Yorkshire Police said there were no reports of injuries but declined to give further details.

Police helicopter used after thieves force their way into Killinghall house

Thieves forced their way into a house in Killinghall on Sunday and stole jewellery and car keys.

Police confirmed today they were investigating a report of aggravated burglary in the village.

Aggravated burglary is used to describe a burglary in which it is believed some kind of weapon or violence was used.

A statement by North Yorkshire Police today said it was notified at 10.05pm and officers were at the scene at 10.13pm.

It added they immediately began searching the area assisted by the National Police Air Service, which provides helicopters to police forces in England and Wales.

Multiple social media posts on Sunday night questioned why a police helicopter was flying over Harrogate.

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The police statement added:

“A black Kia Sorento, which matched a description of a vehicle seen leaving the burgled property was located abandoned on a residential road, near to the Great Yorkshire Showground.”

Enquiries are ongoing. The statement said:

“Anyone with any information which could assist the investigation is asked to dial 101 and speak to force control room quoting reference 12220017438.”

Police seek man carrying gun in Harrogate

Police are searching for a man believed to have been carrying a gun in a street close to Harrogate town centre yesterday.

Officers received reports of a man acting suspiciously in Harlow Oval at 12.30pm yesterday.

According to police, he had approached a nearby car and spoken to the driver. As the man moved away from the car, a witness saw what is believed to have been a gun tucked in the waistband of his trousers.

The suspect is described as white, in his early to mid-twenties and around 5ft 10/11in tall.

He had black short hair with a receding hairline and a short fringe. He’s described as having red blotchy, acne-marked skin and was wearing a blue facemask pulled down his chin.

A statement from North Yorkshire Police today said:

“He was dressed in a plain navy t-shirt and a black mid-length coat, which was unzipped, blue jeans with a belt. He is described as having a local accent and was smoking a cigarette at the time.”

Police are asking anyone who was in the area at the time who saw the incident or anyone who recognises the description of the man to contact them.

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Anyone with information can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask to speak to PC 1606 Kinnear or email chloe.kinnear@northyorkshire.police.uk.

To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The crime reference number 12220017125.

Man charged with drink driving after lorry crashes near Wetherby Services

A lorry driver has been charged with drink-driving after he reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the central reservation of the A1(M) near Harrogate.

The Scania heavy goods vehicle was heading south on the road when the incident happened at 10.25pm on Friday.

It crashed into the barrier about half-a-mile before junction 46 near Wetherby Services.

The lorry blocked the middle and outer lanes until it was recovered at 1am on Saturday.

North Yorkshire Police and National Highways managed traffic past the scene during the recovery operation and collision investigation.

The 25-year-old driver, from Cahersiveen, Ireland, was arrested and later charged with driving whilst unfit through drink — according to police, a road-side test found him to be more than double the legal limit for alcohol.

He was also charged with driving without due care and attention and will appear before Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on 17 February 2022, 10am, court room 1.

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