A drug dealer who ran a county lines operation supplying cocaine, ketamine and cannabis has been jailed after being stopped on the A629 between Silsden and Keighley.
Shane Vickers, 34, was stopped by officers from West Yorkshire Police’s Proactive Intercept Team on March 2nd, 2026, after his Audi was spotted making multiple stops and behaving suspiciously. The operation was carried out as part of Operation Phoenix, West Yorkshire Police’s county lines taskforce. Officers searched the vehicle, finding a mobile phone and two lighters. An address in North Yorkshire was later searched, where officers found a box containing 44 new lighters and a roll of labels. Digital forensic work on Vickers’ phone uncovered evidence of bulk messages being sent through a Snapchat account advertising cocaine, ketamine, cannabis and pills believed to be MDMA. The messages promoted a drugs line using the name ‘West Yorkshire Cartel’ and provided a number for customers to contact. Vickers, of Bradford Road, Cleckheaton, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis. He was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday, August 26th, receiving six years and 10 months in prison. Detective Inspector Helen Chapman, who heads Operation Phoenix, said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the offending. She said: “The supply of drugs fuels crime and violence in our communities and we hope this sentence warns others who seek to profit from criminality.” She added that Operation Phoenix would continue to take a proactive approach to disrupting and dismantling county lines drug dealing. The case involved police activity on the A629 between Silsden and Keighley, linking the investigation to the wider Aire Valley area.
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