A drug dealer who was part of a county lines gang who flooded the region with Class A drugs has been locked up.

Kyle Nelson rarely got his hands dirty touching the heroin and cocaine but played a pivotal role in moving it from Leeds into a wide range of towns including Darlington, Durham, Harrogate and Inverness.

The 35-year-old was at the centre of the drug network organising couriers and drop offs before he was arrested in Leeds, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Ian West, prosecuting, said about £40,000 worth of Class A drugs was recovered from a property connected to the defendant and his fingerprint was found on a rubber glove next to the drugs.

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He said: “He was stopped on a train between Leeds and Harrogate and nothing was found. He never soiled his hands with illicit drugs and he got other people to do it for him.”

The judge heard how the defendant had a number of previous convictions, including for aggravated burglary and possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine.

Nelson, of Hardwick Close, Acomb, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine over an 11-month period in 2019.

Andrew Semple, mitigating, said his client was now a father-of-one and was accessing help and support to address his mental health issues.

He said Nelson had been on an electronically monitored tag since his guilty pleas were entered almost two years ago.

Judge Timothy Stead sentenced the defendant to a total of nine years in custody for his role in supplying high purity Class A drugs to dealers around the country.

He said: “The precise amount of Class A drugs you helped put on the streets is not possible to collate with any precision but it’s clear that it was a substantial amount.”

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