Major North Yorkshire drugs gang put behind bars for 27 years

The mastermind of a major North Yorkshire drugs gang who hid his underworld activities behind a legitimate company has been jailed for nearly 10 years.

Alan John Barker, 56, had two illegal guns, one of which was a sawn-off shotgun, at his home and ran a “slick commercial cannabis production regime”, Judge Robin Mairs told Leeds Crown Court.

Police located five of his cannabis farms at different houses and he may have had more, the court heard.

“This was a cannabis empire that was clearly growing. This was professional criminality by professional criminals,” the judge said.

Barker’s brother Gary, 53, and his “trusted lieutenants” Steve Annis, 40, and John Christopher Dalton, 34, were also locked up. Together the four were jailed for 27 years.

All four were leading a criminal lifestyle, the judge said.

The two guns found at Alan Barker’s home were there at least in part to protect the cannabis operation and were in working order, the judge said.

Gang boss and businessman Alan Barker (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

Robert Stevenson, prosecuting, said Alan Barker used his business Selby Hydroponics as the central hub for the cannabis operation, bringing cannabis to it from five or more cannabis farms for onward supply.

He also used it to buy quality hydroponic and cannabis growing equipment at low prices for the five houses police discovered where he had cannabis grown for him and to conceal his criminality.

He continued to run his drug enterprise after he was arrested and the guns found.

The gang had anti-surveillance equipment which Annis used to check cars for listening bugs.

When police closed down the five cannabis farms, 160 cannabis plants and thousands of pounds of cannabis were  buried on the grounds of Alan Barker's business premises to try and conceal them from the police.

Altogether, the court heard, officers recovered 420 cannabis plants and £72,000 worth of cannabis from the six locations. The cannabis operation was underway by January 2017 and ran until December 2018.

The judge said Alan Barker had a “misplaced” pride in his hydroponics skills and attended hydroponics conferences.

Barristers for all the main defendants suggested the cannabis production was not on an “industrial scale” but a lower “commercial” scale.

Alan Barker, of Long Drax near Selby, was jailed for nine years and nine months. The prosecution is applying for him to be subject to a serious crime prevention order when he is released. He has previously served a 14-year sentence for smuggling £20 million of cocaine into the country.

Alan Barker was also convicted of two charges of supplying cannabis and two charges of possessing guns when prohibited from doing so, having denied the charges. He pleaded guilty to failure to disclose his phone’s PIN to police, a charge that Gary Barker denied and was convicted of at trial.

For Alan Barker, Sean Smith said he had not offended since. He was generous with his time and money to others. There was no ammunition for the shotguns at his home.

Criminal gangster Gary Barker (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

Gary Barker, of Liversedge near Cleckheaton, was jailed for six years and three months. Leeds Crown Court heard he had an EncroChat phone and had previously been jailed for drug offences.

Kieran Galvin, for him, said he was a manager not a director of the cannabis business. He was contrite and regretted his involvement.

Annis, of Westfield Terrace, Halifax, and Dalton, of Hillside, Byram, near Selby, were both jailed for five and a half years. All four had denied conspiracy to produce cannabis and conspiracy to supply cannabis but were convicted at trial.

Nicholas Cartmell for Annis said he was a “good” man who was effectively an errand boy taking chemicals to the cannabis farms. He was sorry for his involvement.

Criminal gangster James Dalton (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

For Dalton, Hugh Mckee said he regretted being involved. He was a “hard-working, kind and considerate” man.

Mark Furness, 60, of Leeds Road, Heckmondwike near Dewsbury, who denied allowing the use of his premises for cannabis growing and was convicted at trial was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 24 months on condition he does 150 hours’ unpaid work.

Richard Canning for Furness said he was "misguided" and "naïve".

Mr Stevenson said Annis, Dalton and Furness had all expected to make big money out of the cannabis operation.

A cannabis farm (Image: GMP)

Three people who admitted allowing the use of their premises by the gang to produce cannabis were given 15-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Ben Marshall, 52, of Scammonden near Huddersfield, was also ordered to do 75 hours’ unpaid work; John Healey, 44, and Diane Mitchell, 64, who live together at Owler Lane, Birstall near Batley, were each also ordered to pay a £500 fine.

All three pleaded guilty on the basis Alan Barker forced them to turn their premises into cannabis farms by threats and other forms of pressure. Alan Barker denied their allegations.

Kate Barker, 40, Alan Barker’s former wife, of Main Road, Drax, admitted possession of the two guns on the basis she knew of their existence but nothing more. She was given a six-month community order with 60 hours’ unpaid work.

The judge commended Det Sgt Tom Hoban of the North Yorkshire Police organised crime unit and forensic analyst Samantha Baxter for their detailed work that brought the gang to justice.