Jail for man caught with 107 grams of heroin and a knife – Yorkshire

A man who was caught in possession of 107 grams of heroin and a knife at Doncaster railway station has been jailed for three years and one month.

The discovery was made by British Transport Police (BTP) County Lines Taskforce officers at the South Yorkshire station.

Bernard Hayes, 51, and of Braybrook Court, Bradford, appeared at Doncaster Magistrates’ Court on 18 March and pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply a drug of Class A status and one count of possession of a bladed article.

On Wednesday 19 May, a judge at Sheffield Crown Court sentenced him to a total of 37 months imprisonment.

He will serve 32 months for possession with intent to supply a drug of Class A status and five months for possession of a bladed article. He is also required to pay a victim surcharge of £190.

At just after 7pm on Tuesday 16 March, BTP officers on duty at Doncaster station stopped Hayes as he travelled from Bradford to Grimsby.

He was asked whether he was in possession of any drugs, to which he replied “yes, in my jacket pocket”.

The officers then searched him under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The searching officer found a tennis ball-sized wrap of cling film in the pocket of his puffer jacket containing a white powdery substance. A box knife was also discovered in Hayes’ bag.

He was subsequently arrested for possession with intent to supply as drug of Class A status and possession of a bladed article before being conveyed to police custody.

Upon inspection, the package found in Hayes’ possession weighed 107 grams and contained a large number of small wraps containing heroin.

BTP Detective Inspector, Matt Davies, said: “It’s evident from what was found in Hayes’ possession on that day that he was using the railway network to transport large quantities of drugs.

“I am thankful to the courts for the sentence handed down to him – he’ll now have plenty of time behind bars to reconsider his criminality.

“Our plain-clothed and uniformed County Lines Taskforce officers are patrolling the railway day in, day out to tackle the movement of drugs and illicit cash between locations.

“If you’re travelling on the network and see something that doesn’t look right – text us on 61016 or call us on 0800 40 50 40. In an emergency, always dial 999.”

BTP’s County Lines Taskforce – a police team dedicated to tackling organised criminals using the railway to transport drugs – was setup with Home Office funding in December 2019.

A key aim of the team is to identify and safeguard vulnerable children and adults often exploited by these organised criminals to transport drugs and cash between import and export locations, which can be hundreds of miles apart.