Harrogate landlady,73, jailed after £240,000 cannabis drugs bust

A 73 year old landlady and an organised crime gang from London have been jailed after cannabis farms were found in three rental properties in Harrogate.

Police seized more than £200,000 worth of the drug at the properties owned by Yoko Banks which had been sub let to the group.

The houses were set up with equipment including an electrical wiring and security system.

Police have said that she expected to make thousands from the agreement.

Yoko Banks, 73, of Scargill Road appeared at Leeds Crown Court alongside five others.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of being concerned in the production of cannabis and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

Speaking after sentencing, Detective Constable Maria Furness of Harrogate CID, said: “The sentences passed mark the end of a complex investigation which has dismantled this extremely harmful organised crime group operating across the country.

“An investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act will follow with the intention of stripping them of their assets accrued through criminality. Communities across the country will share our satisfaction that these people have been removed from our neighbourhoods and their ill-gotten gains seized.

“Drug supply and associated violent crime ruins the lives of whole communities. We will continue to work tirelessly to identify prosecute and dismantle organised crime groups from our streets”