A drugs gang operating in York and Tadcaster has been jailed for more than 50 years after police caught its mastermind with cocaine worth up to £43,000.
Gavin Tuohey, 46, used threats and intimidation to keep members of his gang in line when they didn’t pay their debts for the cocaine he supplied.
Detectives stopped the gang boss in a taxi on the A162 with a kilo of high purity cocaine in his rucksack. He was bringing the Class A drug from Leeds to his home town of Tadcaster.
His arrest was part of a large-scale operation by North Yorkshire Police’s organised crime unit which has put five gang members behind bars. A sixth gang member is on the run after he fled the country before he could be brought to trial. All have been convicted of conspiracy to supply drugs.
Between them they planned to sell huge amounts of cocaine in York and North Yorkshire in 2022 and 2023.
Detective Constable Leah Kitchen, of North Yorkshire Police’s Organised Crime Unit, said: “This was a large and detailed investigation that led to an organised crime gang being dismantled, and in doing so we’ve stopped tens of thousands of pounds of high-purity class-A drugs hitting the streets.
“The key players have received significant prison sentences that reflect the seriousness of their crimes but also take them out of circulation for a number of years, which can only be a good thing for communities in Tadcaster and York.”
The gang members sentenced today at Bradford Crown Court are:
Gavin Paul Tuohey, of Springhill, Tadcaster, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class-A drugs. He was jailed for nine years and three months.
His right-hand man Rhys Morgan, 26, of Rockcliffe Court, Tadcaster, who deputised for Tuohey when the gang leader was on holiday. He used a relative’s address to stash drugs, pleaded guilty and was jailed for eight years.
Drug runner Jamal Lazrak, 29, formerly of Chapelfields and now of no fixed address, used two black Volkswagen Golfs as he shuttled between Tadcaster and York. Tuohey confiscated one of the Golfs temporarily as debt repayment. He pleaded guilty and was jailed for eight years and three months.
Drug dealer Max Haigh, of Wheatdale Road, Ulleskelf, pleaded guilty and was jailed for six years and four months.
Luke Atkin, 37, of Camberwell Avenue, Warrington, made regular journeys to Tadcaster and York to meet gang members and deal drugs. He flew out of the UK instead of attending his trial, was convicted in his absence and given a 10-year prison sentence. He is wanted on warrant.
Luke Jenkins, of Leeds, pleaded guilty and was jailed for 10 years at an earlier hearing.
Another gang member caught with almost £6,500 in his underwear will be sentenced at a later date and a 33-year-old man died while awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to his part in the conspiracy.
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