Luke Atkin, 37, of Warrington, Cheshire, was sentenced to ten years in prison after being extradited from Thailand. Atkin had fled the UK before his trial began, but was arrested in Thailand for overstaying his visa and later deported back to the UK.
At Bradford Crown Court, he was handed an additional four months to his sentence for failing to surrender to court.
Atkin was part of a criminal gang that trafficked huge amounts of cocaine in York and Tadcaster during 2022 and 2023. North Yorkshire Police’s organised crime unit seized over £50,000 worth of cocaine, including one kilogram found in the backpack of the gang’s ringleader, Gavin Tuohey.
In October, several gang members were jailed after admitting their roles in conspiring to supply Class A drugs.
