Dealers blamed for swamping communities with crack locked up

THREE Rotherham dealers blamed for flooding Dearne Valley communities with crack cocaine have been locked up for their actions.

They operated a ‘bring and ring’ service, called the Bolton Line by police, which operated from Bolton on Dearne, in Barnsley.

Taylor Caddick, Billy Jones and Andrew Walton all sold drugs, said South Yorkshire Police.

They were caught in the act supplying wraps of crack cocaine, predominantly in Mexborough, with detectives gathering a wealth of evidence and intelligence on their activities before arresting them.

That left all three entering guilty pleas when they appeared before a Crown Court Judge.

PC Lee Ashworth, who is part of the Operation Dream Alpha team, which has secured over 165 years of prison sentences by targeting and prosecuting drug dealers in Doncaster, said:

"These county line networks bring terror and violence to our local communities, with illegal drugs transported into smaller areas and then sold through a dedicated mobile phone line.

"This kind of criminality is linked to organised crime gangs responsible for some of the most serious and horrific violence we see on our streets.

"It destroys lives and communities, and that is why Operation Dream Alpha has focused on targeting the individuals supplying these drugs and bringing them to justice.

"We will continue to relentlessly pursue those who look to engage in this type of criminality and put these drug dealers behind bars where they belong."

Caddick, 25, of Browning Road, Herringthorpe, Rotherham, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to two counts of supplying crack cocaine, with Jones, 20, of Cresswell Road, Swinton, given a two-year and four-month sentence in a young offender institution for six counts of supplying crack cocaine, possessing an offensive weapon in a private place and possession of cannabis.

Walton, 55, of Cherry Tree Place, Wath, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for three counts of supplying crack cocaine, with all three sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday.

Police are urging anyone with information about drug dealing in their community to pass it on calling 101.

Information can also be provided anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.