Two Leeds drug dealers who tried to hide their stash of heroin and crack cocaine in Harrogate have been sentenced.
- Ethan Jaake Bodally, 22, of Stanks Drive was jailed for two years and ordered to forfeit a mobile phone and drugs paraphernalia.
- Ben Anthony Bland, 21, of Poole Crescent, was given a two-year jail term suspended for two years and ordered to carry out unpaid work.
The pair were arrested on 7 January 2019 after plain clothed officers from North Yorkshire Police’s dedicated county lines team, Operation Expedite, were patrolling in Harrogate and saw them acting suspiciously in the area of Royal Parade.
After being approached by the officers, Bland ran off but Bodally remained where he admitted to using a small amount of cannabis that officers found in his possession. He also claimed to be visiting Harrogate to return a mobile phone to a relative.
Bland was arrested a short time later.
While the pair were being transported to police custody, officers received a call that a member of the public had seen someone matching Bland’s description dump something in a hedge.
Officers retrieved the item that turned out to be a bag containing 102 wraps of crack cocaine and 44 wraps of heroin.
Both men went on to be charged with possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply. They pleaded guilty to the charges at York Crown Court earlier this year.
Detective Sergeant Marcus Dawson, of North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite Team, said:
Just because you can’t see us, it doesn’t mean we’re not out there taking drug dealers off the streets.
I hope local people are reassured that we continue to make drug dealing a priority and target the dealers who cross borders to make life a misery for local people.
Please remember that your information is vital, as we have seen in this case, a call about the dumping of a package was instrumental in taking a large amount of drugs out of circulation.
No matter how insignificant you think the information is, please call us. And if you don’t want to speak to us, you can pass information anonymously to Crimestoppers.
