Jail for heroin and crack cocaine gang
8:42am Tuesday 28th June 2011 in Your Town
GANG members who flooded the streets of Bolton with class-A drugs have been jailed.
Andrew Ferguson and Yaya Kabia were involved in selling heroin and crack cocaine across the borough.
They were caught after police launched an undercover operation to crackdown on the supply of illegal drugs in the town, codenamed Operation Biscuit.
Bolton Crown Court heard they had been selling drugs on the streets, along with Andrew Anderson, a leading member of the gang who was jailed for 15 years earlier this month.
The court heard it was a sophisticated operation and lasted for several months in 2009 and 2010.
Judge Steven Everett, who had seen CCTV of a drug deal which took place at Bolton Market in Ashburner Street, said Ferguson was swaggering and had no sympathy or empathy for the user.
He added: “It is important to keep in mind the seriousness of selling class-A drugs. They are a terrible evil on our streets.
“This court sees too often the end result of the sale of drugs.
“Addicts do not care where their next money is coming from and they will do anything to get that money. The Court of Appeal makes it very clear that for those who sell drugs on the street, it will inevitably result in custody.”
Ferguson, aged 20, of Blackburn Road, Bolton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and possession with intent to supply class-A drugs. He was jailed for four years and four months.
Kabia, aged 47, of Tonge Moor Road, Bolton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class-A drugs from November to December, 2009.
He was jailed for three years and four months.
The court was told Kabia suffers from mental health problems caused by cannabis.
