{"id":238173,"date":"2023-10-09T07:20:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T07:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=238173"},"modified":"2023-10-09T07:20:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T07:20:30","slug":"family-crime-gang-ran-drugs-empire-and-terrorised-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/world-news\/family-crime-gang-ran-drugs-empire-and-terrorised-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Family crime gang ran drugs empire and terrorised community"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>The family crime gang who ran a drugs empire from a sleepy village and terrorised a community: Husband, wife and son &#8216;slashed tyres if locals dialled 999 and dealt drugs from ice cream van&#8217; &#8211; as matriarch sparks manhunt by going on the run<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lynne, Stephen, and Samson Leyson lived in Capel Dewi, Carmerthenshire\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Lynne, 52, has been on the run from police officers for three months\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A family crime gang who ran a drugs empire from a sleepy village terrorised neighbours who would wake up and find their car tyres mysteriously slashed if they dared to call police.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lynne Leyson, her husband Stephen, and his son Samson&#8217;s reign of terror almost caused one person to be put into a psychiatric hospital, while others sold their homes to escape their drug-dealing neighbours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Leysons sold cannabis and cocaine from their family farm in Capel Dewi, Carmerthenshire, south-west Wales, with a grit box at the end of the road used as drop-off point for deals.<\/p>\n<p>Neighbours would witness dozens of cars arriving at the farm at all hours and speeding away within minutes of arriving.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Villagers, once feeling safe tucked away in their sleepy village, became terrified by the law-breaking family and all went out and bought cameras for security.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/07\/75642537-12609453-A_nationwide_hunt_has_been_launched_for_farmer_s_wife_Lynne_Leys-a-1_1696834358647.jpg\" height=\"793\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Farmer&#8217;s wife Lynne Leyson operated a hidden double life as the godmother of a family crime gang<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/07\/75642547-12609453-Lynne_s_husband_Stephen_Leyson_pictured_and_his_son_Samson_were_-a-2_1696834364641.jpg\" height=\"410\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/07\/75642541-12609453-Stephen_s_son_Samson-a-3_1696834364663.jpg\" height=\"410\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Lynne&#8217;s husband Stephen Leyson (left) and his son Samson (right) were jailed for a total of 17 years in July after the farm was raided by police<\/p>\n<p>The gang was caught with \u00a360,000 of cocaine, \u00a315,000 of cannabis and a 9mm handgun when police raided the farm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0Farmer&#8217;s wife, 52, is hunted across UK after leading double life as godmother of family crime gang that was caught with \u00a360,000 of cocaine, \u00a315,000 of cannabis and 9mm handgun<\/h3>\n<p>Police also discovered two dealers in Pembrokeshire, who were working on behalf of the family to sell drugs, including one who was known as &#8216;Mr Pickles&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Stephen, 55, and Samson, 24, were put behind bars for a combined 17 years, but farmer&#8217;s wife Lynne is still on the run three months after being sentenced for nine years, with it thought she might be in Thailand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lynne was the godmother of the family crime gang and hid her criminality behind the curtains of the farm. Always &#8216;beautifully dressed&#8217;, with her hair styled, neighbours fell for her and her husband&#8217;s charm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Although on occasions Stephen&#8217;s real side would seep out from the facade with one villager recalling how he threw a bin full of rubbish at a neighbour when she complained it had been strewn over her land, reported The Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before their misdeeds were uncovered in Capel Dewi, the Leysons had menaced another community 12 miles south in Kidwelly.<\/p>\n<p>Here, with views of a Norman castle in the distance, the stench of cannabis coming from the &#8216;filthy&#8217; home was unmissable.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/07\/75642545-12609453-_15_615_of_cannabis_was_seized_by_the_police_at_Pibwr_Farm_near_-a-4_1696834391318.jpg\" height=\"477\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>\u00a315,615 of cannabis was seized by the police at\u00a0Pibwr Farm, near Capel Dewi, Carmarthenshire<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/07\/75642549-12609453-Police_recovered_a_9mm_semi_automatic_handgun_which_was_found_st-a-5_1696834393880.jpg\" height=\"474\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Police recovered a 9mm semi-automatic handgun which was found stashed at the farm<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;They lived here for nearly ten years, they nearly put me in the [psychiatric] hospital, it was unbelievable,&#8217; one former neighbour told The Times. &#8216;I didn&#8217;t want to stay here, but who was going to buy this house?&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The family had an ice-cream van where neighbours hinted they were selling more than ice-cream from.<\/p>\n<p>And if neighbours dared to call the police they would wake the next morning to find the tyres on the cars had mysteriously been slashed and deflated as a menacing Samson glared down at them from the balcony.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After a decade of living there they sold up the home for \u00a3109,000 when men in smart suits had arrived days earlier and demanded money from Stephen, it is claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Swansea Crown Court heard husband and wife Stephen and Lynne Leyson denied any wrongdoing when they were questioned.<\/p>\n<p>Lynne Leyson was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, and possessing criminal property.<\/p>\n<p>A bench warrant was issued after she previously failed to turn up to court for sentencing &#8211; and she is has now been jailed for nine years in her absence.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Catherine Richards said: &#8216;Lynne Leyson has chosen not to attend her sentencing hearing. It appears to be a deliberate attempt to evade justice.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>She added: &#8216;She presented at trial as someone who controlled a number of people working for her in this serious offence.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Stephen was jailed for 11 years for conspiracy to supply cocaine, possession of a firearm, conspiracy to supply cannabis and possession of criminal property.<\/p>\n<p>Samson was handed a six-year sentence for conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply cannabis.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/09\/07\/75642543-12609453-The_family_claimed_that_cash_seized_by_police_was_from_a_house_s-a-6_1696834400397.jpg\" height=\"420\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The family claimed that cash seized by police was from a &#8216;house sale&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>After the case, one neighbour said: &#8216;We just couldn&#8217;t believe it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;They seemed like a normal farming family, well a bit rough around the edges like a lot of country people. Lynne seemed very normal really &#8211; not a cocaine dealer like she was. It is all very odd.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>A Crimestoppers appeal said: &#8216;Arrest enquiries have been conducted at known addresses where Lynne is likely to frequent. These premises are across Carmarthen and parts of Swansea. To date these have been negative enquiries.<\/p>\n<p>Enquiries to date have returned negative results. A request is being made for Lynne Leyson aka Annelyn Caldicot to be placed on Crimestoppers as a wanted person.<\/p>\n<p>She is described as being 5ft 4in, with black hair, brown eyes, right handed, a surgical scar on left leg and having a Welsh accent.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who sees her is asked to call anonymously on 0800 555 111.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12609453\/The-family-crime-gang-ran-drugs-empire.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The family crime gang who ran a drugs empire from a sleepy village and terrorised a community: Husband, wife and son &#8216;slashed tyres if locals dialled 999 and dealt drugs&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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