Man jailed for county lines drug dealing in Scarborough
He'll spend five years in jail
Another ‘County Lines’ drug dealer has been sent to prison thanks to the efforts of the Operation Expedite team at North Yorkshire Police in Scarborough.
George Blair, 22, of no fixed address but from Guisborough, was jailed for five years at York Crown Court on Tuesday (2 January 2024) after being convicted at an earlier hearing.
This relates to a ‘deal-line’ identified by the Operation Expedite team as operating in Scarborough offering heroin and crack cocaine for sale for four days at the end of June 2023.
The line was identified as originating from the Middlesbrough area and the number used was attributed to Blair.
On 28 June, Operation Expedite officers identified Blair and a 16-year-old boy getting off a bus on Westborough, Scarborough.
They tracked Blair and the youth to McDonald’s on Huntriss Row where they were apprehended.
The youth ran to the toilets and disposed of a package containing heroin and crack cocaine over the top of a toilet cubicle.
The recovered package contained 53 individual wraps of crack cocaine and 40 wraps of heroin.
When the officers searched Blair, he was found to have the deal-phone in his pocket.
The youth, who is from Middlesbrough, remains under investigation.
Police Constable Jessie Landers, who led the investigation, said:
“The Operation Expedite team were able to catch George Blair in the act and it is pleasing he has been handed a significant custodial sentence for these serious offences.
“We hope he now reflects on his criminal lifestyle and is willing to change his ways with support from the HM Prison Service and the Probation Service.
“As evidenced in this case, we’re listening, watching, waiting and ready to pounce on drug-dealers like Blair who think they can operate freely in our area.
“It is abundantly clear that it will lead you to one place, and one place only: prison.”