A Spennymoor drug dealer sent a sick note from Thailand to avoid court
Spennymoor: Daryll Samuel Hall tried to skip out on his trial by sending a sick note from Thailand. This happened just before his court date at Leeds Crown Court last November.
The judge wasn’t having it, though. He decided to go ahead with the trial without Hall and even issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Hall, who used to live in Farnley Close, was part of a group that got busted for supplying class A drugs. After a three-week trial, he and his co-defendants were found guilty.
On January 7, the judge handed down sentences totaling over 50 years. Hall got 15 years, but he wasn’t even there to hear it.
As of now, the warrant for his arrest is still active, and he’s still on the run. The National Crime Agency is working hard to track him down.
When this whole thing started back in April 2022, Hall was out on bail and was supposed to keep in touch with his lawyers.
An NCA spokesperson mentioned that they can’t share too much about their search for Hall right now, but they’ve had success in finding other fugitives in the past.
For example, another guy involved in the same crime group, Clinton Blakey, was caught in Spain after being on the run for three years. He was brought back to the UK and sentenced to 12 years.
Hall was one of the last members of this crime group to be sentenced. They were involved in selling drugs and firearms across northern England.
The group was led by Carl O’Flaherty, who got over 17 years in prison last year. Their operation was taken down as part of a big investigation into encrypted communications.
Between 2019 and late 2020, they were buying tons of cocaine and chemicals to make amphetamines. They had a whole system set up in Leeds and Bradford to produce and sell these drugs.
One of their couriers, a taxi driver named Safdar Pervez, was caught transporting large amounts of drugs and cash. He was also sentenced to 11 years.
Hall was known as one of O’Flaherty’s top customers, getting kilos of diluted cocaine delivered to him.
The NCA’s investigation really kicked off when they found a bag of cocaine and a special phone in a car belonging to an ex-footballer. This led to a search that uncovered firearms and more drugs.
They figured out how the gang operated, including how they diluted high-purity cocaine to sell it for a profit.
The NCA’s Operations Manager said they’ve taken down the entire network, making communities safer by stopping drugs and firearms from hitting the streets.
In total, ten people have been sentenced to a whopping 118 years for their roles in this organized crime group.
