Men behind city drugs ring jailed

Rachel Russell
BBC News
Humberside Police A montage of police custody shots showing two men, both looking at the camera with serious expressions, in front of a grey background. Rhys Bunce (left) has short brown hair, a neck tattoo and a birthmark. Regan Murray has brown hear with a fringe and a brown beard.Humberside Police
Rhys Bunce (left) and Regan Murray are starting substantial prison terms

Drug dealers behind an operation making thousands of pounds a week have been jailed for a total of more than 16 years.

Regan Murray, 25, was responsible for suppling large amounts of drugs to dealers throughout Hull, while Rhys Bunce, 30, ran a drugs line in the city, Humberside Police said.

At Grimsby Crown Court, Murray, of Clairbrook Close, Hull, was jailed for 10 years and nine months after admitting supplying class A and B drugs, possession with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.

Bunce, of Lissett Grove, Hull, was sent to prison for five years and four months during the hearing on Friday, after pleading guilty to three counts of supplying class A drugs.

PC Claire Dobson said the sentences would make a "dent in an organised crime group".

Officers who went to arrest Bunce in November 2023 found him hiding in a hollowed-out bed frame.

Messages were found on his phone relating to the supply of class A drugs including cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin.

"He was the one running a drugs line, employing others on the streets of Hull to deal the drugs, and making thousands of pounds per week," PC Dobson said.

There was evidence of Bunce making crack cocaine and employing others to weigh and bag up the drugs for distribution, she added.

Police found Bunce was in regular contact with Murray.

Officers who searched Murray's home in February 2024 found £38,000 in cash, cocaine with an estimated street value of £13,000, designer clothing and high-value items including a Rolex watch worth £17,000.

Bunce and Murray pleaded guilty to the offences during a hearing at Grimsby Crown Court on 25 February.

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