Teddy Line: County lines drugs gang who used children to courier drugs and cash jailed

Four members of the Bradford-based drug dealing gang - which flooded the streets of Harrogate with cocaine and heroin - have been jailed for a combined total of 26 years after the enterprise was dismantled by a police investigation.

The ‘Teddy Line’ was one of three county lines which was targeted as part of Operation Jackal, which was launched in 2019 by North Yorkshire Police to crack down on heroin and cocaine being supplied from Bradford into the Harrogate area.

The gang infiltrated local drug dealers in Harrogate to take over the town, and a joint operation in February 2020 saw a number of arrests of people from both areas. The heads of the organised crime group were based in Bradford, while those lower down the pecking order came from Harrogate.

The gang exploited children and used them to courier the drugs and profits between Bradford and Harrogate.

Two 16-year-olds were arrested by police as part of the investigation, but it soon became clear they were being exploited and measures were put in place to safeguard them.

Five members of the group have now been sentenced for their role in operating the county lines gang.

Sanchez Heffernan, 33, of Rufus Street, Bradford, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and jailed for nine years.

Waqas Ali, 34, also of Rufus Street, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drug and two counts of human trafficking and exploitation. He was jailed for eight years and eight months for drug offences and four years for human trafficking, to run concurrent.

Mohammed Owais Ali, 26, of Basil Street, Bradford, was found guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and jailed for seven years.

Ben Parcell, 42, of Bramham Drive, Harrogate, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for two years and three months.

Nicola Jayne Fletcher 47, of Harrogate pleaded guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. She was given an 18-month sentence suspended for two years.

Detective Sergeant Sam Harding of North Yorkshire Police’s Organised Crime Unit, and now of the Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “Vulnerable children were used to courier the drugs and do the gangs’ dirty work.

“They showed no regard whatsoever for the children in a bid to hide their own tracks and evade detection. The children were shamefully used as a commodity to help the gang make money, and to face the dangers on the streets so that they didn’t have to.

“Drug dealing and the violence and exploitation that accompanies county lines remains a foremost priority for North Yorkshire Police and the wider region. We are committed to working together to disrupt the offenders and take those responsible off the streets.”