5 days ago
Great-grandfather acted as mule for drug cartel
An 80-year-old great-grandfather acted as a mule for a drug cartel after his son fell into debt, a court heard.
Malcolm Hoyland, a former soldier, made 17 cocaine drops for Byrne, an organised crime group based in Ireland.
Hoyland Snr made trips in his car across Britain including to Plymouth, London and Ripon in North Yorkshire, and was said to have been regarded as a 'trusted' figure in the racket.
Police found cocaine with a street value of £8.3m when they raided Hoyland Snr's home, a £200,000 semi-detached house he rented from Hoyland Jnr in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, last January.
Inquiries revealed Hoyland Jnr had first come into contact with the Byrnes after he developed Huntington's disease and his business went into liquidation.
Hoyland Snr, who formerly worked as a roofer and a farmer after leaving the Army, then agreed to help out his son with cocaine drops when the family home fell into mortgage arrears.
Police believe up to £13m worth of cocaine was handled by the pensioner and his son before being trafficked to various contacts across Britain on behalf of the Byrnes.
At Manchester Crown Court, Hoyland Snr, who has arthritis and is partially deaf among other serious health conditions, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, and was jailed for seven years and three months.
Hoyland Jnr, from Todmorden, West Yorkshire, also admitted conspiracy and was jailed for 10 years.
Their crimes were uncovered after police began a surveillance operation on the Hoylands after a tip-off they were dealing with the Byrnes.
Alex Langhorn, prosecuting, said: ''They were involved in the source and supply of at least 137kg of cocaine on behalf of someone whose name was stored in their phones as 'Mr Miyagi'.
'Mr Miyagi directed what was to be done with the packages but it would appear Richard was the primary point of contact and he passed things on to his father who was a willing participant in the conspiracy.
'On one occasion Richard received a call from a Mr Miyagi saying: 'Yo mate ASAP', and another contact using the pseudonym Mike Tyson on the encrypted Zangi app contacted him to ask if his father could deliver 5kg of cocaine to a postcode in Hulme, Manchester.
'Richard then contacted his father, who then arrived in Hulme whereupon Mr Miyagi sent him a message saying the person collecting the drugs could not see him.
'Mr Miyagi then asked Malcolm to check if the drugs had 'cartier' stamps embossed on them. A further series of handovers were later observed.''
Initially Hoyland Snr claimed to have no knowledge of the drugs but later admitted he was aware of the packages.
He claimed he acted 'under the direction of my son' at all times.
In mitigation for Hoyland Snr Michael James, defending, said: ''He was acting under the direction of other people. He felt he was simply helping out his son and didn't feel he could do anything else.'
For Hoyland Jnr, defence counsel Nicholas Clarke said: ''He was not making significant amounts of money.
'He had lost his career and been diagnosed with a medical condition which will affect his ability to walk, wash and feed, and he merely made sufficient money to keep up with his mortgage and keep his family in clothes and food.''
Sentencing Hoyland Snr, Judge Peter Horgan said: ''It is a sad state of affairs when I have to sentence a man of 80 for such a serious crime. Others have expressed how dumbfounded [they are] at your involvement in this matter.''
