Two men have been jailed for exploiting vulnerable 16-year-olds to deal crack cocaine and heroin more than 100 miles away. The ex-girlfriend of one of the dealers who ferried a boy to and from Greater Manchester avoided jail by the 'skin of her teeth'.
Jamie Upton set-up a drugs line in Hull in March 2020, transporting heroin and crack cocaine between there and Manchester, to make 'easy money', having originally come to Newton Heath from the Republic of Ireland. He had taken control of the county lines operation from a male known as 'David' and was taking direction from him, prosecutor Maria Brannan told the court.
In March 2020 Upton, 25, texted his then girlfriend, Georgia Burns, telling her he was going to Hull 'for a while' claiming he could make £3,000 a month. "I need to do anything at the moment," he said.
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He went to a property in the Beverley Road area of Hull late in March to set-up operations, texting Burns, 22, that the 'gaff was hanging'. Days after this he travelled to the property with a 16-year-old by train where the teen was expected to live in the "unsanitary living conditions for the purpose of selling drugs," Ms Brannan told Bolton Crown Court.
Upton texted Burns about the teenagers working for him, saying: "They are my joeys, I f***ing pay them so they know where their bread's buttered." Burns replied: "If you’re paying them they can’t say no."
On April 17 that year the Hull property was raided by police, who knew it to be used for the supply of drugs. Upton was found upstairs in the bathroom with a 16-year-old trying to flush heroin and crack cocaine down the toilet, estimated to be worth more than £2,000 with over £3,000 cash also found in the property.
Two other defendants were arrested near the property. They were Pedro Bergantim, 21, who said he had agreed to sell drugs from the property but had not actively done so yet, and Edvard Volodkovic, 35, who was found with heroin on him near the property. All were released on police bail.
Around this time Upton set up the 'Snickers' line operating from Oldham. He supplied drugs in the Greater Manchester area, along with a 16-year-old. The 16-year-old discovered in the property on April 17 was no longer involved from this point. Another vulnerable child from the Greater Manchester area was then brought in to take over the Hull operation, known as the 'Hugo New' line.
Through the rest of April and into June and May, Burns took Upton between Hull and Manchester, sometimes with the 16-year-old involved. On one occasion she drove the 16-year-old from Hull to Manchester by herself. Texts between Burns and Upton show she was aware of activities in Hull and intentions to profit from drugs. She encouraged Upton to do this, Ms Brannan told the court.
She booked hotels for her and Upton to stay in in Hull. She was aware journeys between the cities were to do with the drugs operation, the court heard. On one occasion on May 23 she drove the 16-year-old to Manchester and complained of how he smelled. "You can tell he lives in a crack-house," she texted Upton.
At the start of June Burns messaged Upton saying: "I'm glad it’s going well and you’re making money." Phone records taken from the 16-year-old show that he made notes relating to the selling of drugs in Hull, Ms Brannan said.
Around this time Upton travelled to Ireland for a number of weeks, with Kade Joyson, 28, put in charge of the Hull operation. The 16-year-old confided in his youth worker and met with him, with the youth worker commenting that he 'looked scared'.
The youth worker changed his accommodation, at which point he became more relaxed. Joyson struggled to contact the boy. He texted him saying 'what's up with you' and 'haha muppet'. Joyson then sent threats to the 16-year-old saying: "Going to chop up your sister, you have nine don’t you? Wonder which one I will pick."
The boy was taken back to Hull and reported missing from Greater Manchester towards the end of June. By September Upton texted Burns to say he was going to Spain.
In March 2021 Upton was arrested at his home in Crammond Close, Newton Heath where £820 worth of heroin in the airing cupboard in the bathroom, cocaine worth £2,600 in a kitchen cupboard, £580 of MDMA in the kitchen, £440 of mehtylamphetamine, £340 of ketamine, and £4,340 of amphetamine, was found. Also in the bathroom airing cupboard was a bolt action .22 rifle.
Burns was arrested in March at a different address. Both gave no comment in police interviews. It wasn't until April 2022 that Joyson was arrested having returned from Ireland. The prosecution said he had been trying to obtain an Irish passport with a new identity.
Upton's defence barrister said in mitigation that he was remorseful and 'makes no excuses' for 'foolish greed'. Joyson's barrister told the court that his threatening messages to the 16-year-old were in relation to cash that they owed and not in his exploitation.
Judge Martin Walsh, sentencing, said: "Vulnerable youths or children are often used in so called county lines drug dealing because they enable others higher up the supply chain to distance themselves from the end users. They can also be easily controlled, manipulated and intimidated."
He added: "You were all aware of the full scale of the operation. You (Upton and Joyson) held positions further up the chain."
Upton, who was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison following the March 2021 raid, was sentenced to nine years and three months in total today (May 18). He was sentenced to five years and three months for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and four years for modern slavery offences. He pleaded guilty to the charges.
Joyson, of Alder Gate, Salford, was sentenced to eight years and three months after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
Burns, of Roman Road, Failsworth, was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years. She previously pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine. Judge Walsh said: "This is a difficult and troubling sentencing exercise. You got into a relationship with Upton when you were just 16 and continued the relationship during the period of time when operating the county lines drug supply.
"You were fully aware of your involvement and on four occasions drove him to Hull with the purpose of the trip to further the drug dealing. It's clear from the text messages you were aware to some extent of the vulnerability and in drug dealing (of the 16-year-old).
"I'm prepared to accept you were in an unhealthy relationship with Upton and there was some degree of coercive control. At some point Upton became involved in serious crime and knowing what he was involved in you continued to facilitate the drug dealing activity."
He added she had avoided custody by the "skin of your teeth". Burns was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.
Bergantim of Taunton Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, was sentenced to two years suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work for being concerned in supplying a controlled drug. And Volodkovic, who is currently on a licence recall in prison, was sentenced to seven days for possession.
Detective Constable Laura Hughes, of Tameside’s Child Criminal Exploitation Team, said: “Upton oversaw an organised crime group that operated a county lines network that was centred on exploitation.
“The group cared more about profits than they did about people. The boys were told they would make good money that they naively thought would be easy, however the reality is that they were seen as cheap labour and put to work selling drugs, then moved up and down the motorway to facilitate this.
“These children are vulnerable, often suffering from physical or mental illness, in social care, exclusion from school or at risk of neglect, making them a target for criminals. Once a friendship has been portrayed, the true reality begins to surface, debts need paying and threats of violence start to occur.
“I welcome the sentencing that has been passed today. It is the second conviction of child criminal exploitation under modern slavery for GMP and the Tameside district. We are committed to rooting out the exploiters and bringing them to justice to protect children.”
Detective Chief Inspector for vulnerability in Tameside, Anna Barker added: “We are once again demonstrating that by working with neighbouring police forces, the local authority and other supporting agencies we’re identifying and safeguarding young children from exploitation as well as targeting and dismantling those involved in a truly despicable crime.
“I want to thank Humberside Police, Tameside Council and the Crown Prosecution Service for the extensive support they have offered to the investigation that has ensured we’ve secured a second conviction case for modern slavery here at GMP.
“We know there are children in Manchester who will be experiencing this, and I want to reassure them that there is support and help available whether that’s by speaking to a youth worker, a charity such as Catch 22 or by contacting Fearless anonymously if they don’t feel comfortable speaking to police.”
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