News Busted and banged up
A prisoner who masterminded a major drug ring from INSIDE jail has been locked up for 11 years.
Steven Cleary (31), who was on remand in Hull Prison, used the telephone calls he was allowed as an inmate to organise his lucrative racket throughout Yorkshire.
He bought and sold cocaine and heroin, arranged for debts to be collected - and had the cheek to smuggle a mobile phone into his cell to carry on dealing, a court heard.
Cleary, described as the 'Mr Big' of Goole, even had a parcel of heroin delivered to prison for his own use but it was intercepted by prison staff.
It was the final piece of evidence for Humberside detectives, who had been tracking Cleary on the streets for more than a year and then monitored his telephone calls from the prison.
Cleary, of Marlborough Avenue in Goole, Jeffrey Barker (29), of Percy Street in Old Goole and John Ford (31), of Mount Pleasant, Hale, Cornwall, all admitted conspiring to supply heroin and cocaine from May, 2005 to March, 2006 and money-laundering.
Prosecutor Tim Capstick told Sheffield Crown Court that Cleary was remanded to Hull Prison last November on an assault charge unrelated to drugs.
Inside he made several telephone calls, which were taped, to his girlfriend Lisa Oldridge, the other two defendants and known drug-dealers in Liverpool and Sheffield.
He claimed he was owed nearly £9,000 in drugs money by various people and asked Miss Oldridge to arrange its collection.
In another call, Cleary organised £4,000 to be deposited in a bank account.
He set up 'drop-offs' and made drug deals over the phone. After one call, police raided an address in Goole and found drugs with a street value of £7,000 hidden in a garden.
After this raid Barker was arrested and by January this year they were sharing the same cell in Hull Prison.
The mobile phone, which was used to make calls which could not be taped, was later recovered from their cell.
Used 13-year-old dealer to move drugs
One of Cleary's drug couriers, a 13-year-old dealer, is thought to have tried to smuggle a 42-gramme packet of heroin into the jail - worth £2,500 on the streets.
Cleary made a call outside to say "something had been dropped off" for him but it did not reach him. The parcel was thrown over the jail wall.
Cleary and Barker were arrested inside prison over the drugs offences and Ford was arrested at his Cornwall home.
The court heard that Cleary was the main drug dealer in the Goole area and Barker was his "eyes, ears and legs" while he was in custody.
Ford was an old school pal of Cleary's and was a small-time dealer, supplied by Cleary to fund his own habit.
Details of suspected drug deals involving Cleary in Goole, Howden, Thorne and Sheffield before he was locked up on remand were outlined at the hearing.
Anil Murray, for Cleary, said he was a drug addict himself and began dealing in a small way to pay for drugs but it spiralled out of control.
He had no idea about the size of the heroin package dropped off for him in prison and he was expecting a much smaller amount.
Cleary felt he had dragged his girlfriend into the drugs ring and he felt he had put her in an impossible position, asking her to "move money" while he was in prison.
Said Mr Murray: "There was a demand in Goole. He started to get drugs for himself and people were asking for them and the situation has run away."
The court heard Barker was involved in the drugs ring as a 'gofer' for Cleary and acted as a 'foot soldier'.
Ford had no idea of the wider conspiracy or that Cleary was the 'Mr Big' in Goole.
Cleary also admitted unlawful wounding, threatening behaviour and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice after he broke the jaw of a man in a street argument.
Barker admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice over the same incident.
Jailing Cleary, Judge Robert Moore told him: "You built a major drugs supply ring and were a major player in a relatively small area. After your arrest you continued to deal from prison using your partner and Barker."
Barker was jailed for five years and four months and Ford for three years.
Miss Oldridge was sentenced separately on Wednesday morning after admitting money-laundering and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. She was sentenced to a total of two-and-a-half years in prison - two years for money laundering and six months for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Void will soon be filled
After the hearing, Det Insp Gerry Darling of Humberside Police said: "We would like to thank the people of Goole. We couldn't have done it without their help. Sadly, other people will be left to fill the void vacated by Cleary."
Det Sgt Phil North, who was commended for his work along with colleague Pc Pat Stanford by Judge Robert Moore, said: "Cleary was a well-established dealer in Goole and we had been following him for about a year.
"Once he went inside prison we upped the level of surveillance. His activities as a major dealer continued despite the fact he was behind bars.
"It culminated in the heroin package being thrown over the prison wall into the exercise yard but fortunately it was spotted by staff."
Published on 5th October 2006 in News.
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