Jail for Harrogate cemetery drugs gang
Seven members of a gang that hid drugs in a cemetery in North Yorkshire have been jailed.
North Yorkshire Police seized £561,000 worth of heroin, cocaine, and amphetamine from addresses in Harrogate, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Officers saw the gang's leader, Joseph McIntyre, hide drugs in the town's Stonefall cemetery in November 2012.
Police said McIntyre and his partner Fay Read lived well on the proceeds of their crimes.
'Organised crime group'
Det Insp Mark Pearson, of North Yorkshire Police, said McIntyre had been "the main main at the head of the operation".
"He went to great lengths to ensure that he had little contact with the drugs, instead getting other people to store, cut, and courier the drugs for him," he said.
McIntyre, 37, of Fountains Avenue, Harrogate, was jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Ms Read, 24, of the same address, was also found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and jailed for four years.
Thomas McIntyre, 31, of Bilton Drive, Harrogate, acted as a courier and was jailed for six years .
James Kenny, 30, of Partington Avenue, Bootle, worked for a drug dealing organisation in Merseyside who traded drugs with Joseph McIntyre. He was jailed for two and a half years for his part in the conspiracy.
Victoria Clayton, 54, of Albert Place, Harrogate, was convicted of four counts of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs and one count of converting criminal property. She was jailed for five years.
Julie Scruton, 45, of Lime Street, in Harrogate, was convicted of four counts of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs and one count of converting criminal property. She was jailed for six years.
Russell Baker, 35, of Robert Street, Harrogate, was convicted of four counts of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs. She was jailed for three years.