3 hours Ago By [email protected] (Jade McElwee)
It has taken 'the best part of six years to secure justice' but the ringleader of ‘Ghost’ line drug dealers has finally been put behind bars. The head of the conspiracy which flooded Scarborough, North Yorkshire , with heroin and crack cocaine, was Riccardo Nathaniel Donalds. The 36-year-old failed to appear for sentencing back in November and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Wednesday, justice caught up with him. Donalds ,of Oscott Road, Birmingham, was sentenced to seven years and one month at York Crown Court. But what was the drugs conspiracy? On November 5, last year, North Yorkshire Police reported that county line drug dealers from the West Midlands - operating under the name ‘Ghost’ - were jailed over the five month plot which ran from August 2017 to January 2018.
A further three members were sentenced at York Crown Court on October 17: They came to the attention of Scarborough Police during the early hours of January 16, 2018, when a vehicle driven by King was stopped in Scarborough. Donalds, Ennis and Ellis were inside and weapons, mobile phones and digital scales with traces of heroin and crack cocaine were recovered from the vehicle. On January 25, 2018, Waldron was arrested in possession of heroin with intent to supply.
His phone was seized and examined which showed links to the ‘Ghost’ group. What followed was a complex investigation into the group and their activities that, eventually, linked in Neil Gordon. He was aged 16 at the time and was taking direction from Donalds and the others to supply to local Class A users in Scarborough.
Mobile phone analysis, call data analysis and ANPR evidence, showed the group were working together - with Donalds at the helm - to sell heroin and crack cocaine in Scarborough using several deal lines. Financial investigations showed thousands of pounds passing through the bank accounts of Donalds and Xiourroupas, who was Donalds’ partner at the time. CCTV also captured other group members paying money into Donalds’ bank account in Scarborough, while Donalds waited to withdraw the cash in the West Midlands.
All were subsequently charged in January 2023 with conspiring together to supply heroin and crack cocaine in Scarborough. All pleaded guilty at various stages with Donalds, Xiourroupas and Ellis pleading on the day of their trial in September 2023. King failed to appear at court, and it took several months for him to be apprehended which caused a further delay in bringing the case to a conclusion.
King was the only one who did not admit his crimes. He was found guilty by jury on October 3, 2024, following a four-day trial. Gordon was arrested in March 2023 following a separate investigation where phone evidence showed he was supplying cocaine and cannabis.
When he was arrested a quantity of cocaine, cannabis and cash were recovered from Gordon’s address. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis. Gordon was also sentenced for the separate offences of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis between September 2022 and March 2023 and possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis from March 2023.
Waldron had already been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment following his arrest in January 2018 for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. Detective Constable Darrel Temple from Scarborough and Ryedale CID, who led the investigation, said: “Referring to their own county lines drugs conspiracy as ‘Ghost’, the group thought they could operate with impunity between the West Midlands and Scarborough. “Unfortunately for them, North Yorkshire Police ‘ain’t afraid of no ghost’ or any other drug dealers for that matter, and we set about a complex investigation to dismantle the gang.
It has taken the best part of six years to secure justice against the offenders. This effort shows our determination to rid our community of the harms caused by drug-related crime.” Anyone with any information about suspected drug-related crime are urged to make a report via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101 and speaking to the Force Control Room.
Always dial 999 if an emergency response is required. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or make a report online at www.crimestoppers-uk.
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