Police descend on Manchester Airport as wanted 'kingpin' desperately tries to flee to Dubai

John Joyce, a 28-year-old from Manchester, has been jailed for over five years after being caught running a county lines drug operation distributing crack cocaine and heroin in Greater Manchester. He was arrested at Manchester Airport after fleeing to Dubai to evade justice. Joyce controlled a drugs line known as ‘CEE’, which was linked to over 31,000 text messages and 8,700 calls about drug dealing. Police found CCTV footage of him buying top-up vouchers and uncovered over 460g of drugs, cash, and paraphernalia at his home. His sentence reflects the serious harm caused by drug supply in the area. Joyce, who featured in a Crimewatch appeal this year, is the first of twelve wanted individuals to be captured, and police are still looking for the others. Detective Constable Josh Claxton emphasised their ongoing efforts to dismantle such networks and urged anyone with information about the remaining suspects to contact the police or Crimestoppers.

Read the full article at Manchester Evening News