‘Life of luxury’ drug dealer who fled UK after prison escape jailed for 11 years
Drug dealer fled prison to Thailand, posed under fake names and returned to the UK to sell drugs
A drug dealer who escaped from prison and fled to Thailand to live in "luxury" has been jailed, it has emerged.
Kyle Nelson, 38, was a main player in a major County Lines network that sold heroin, crack cocaine and other dangerous drugs in North Yorkshire.
The career criminal had been serving a nine-year prison sentence for conspiracy to supply cocaine in 2022 and was moved to an open prison.
However, he escaped in 2024 when he was on day release and travelled to Scotland, Ireland, and then Thailand using criminal associates.
But Nelson, who was from Manchester but lived in York, returned to the UK last year and police chiefs say upon returning home he began running class-A drugs in an organised crime network which he codenamed the ‘Banksy line’.
However, North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Sentry team, which tackles serious organised crime, was working with intelligence analysts in attempts to bust the network and track down Nelson.
He was linked to a vehicle travelling from Wetherby to York in April 2025, which police stopped and searched, finding a mobile phone with Banksy line information on it.
He was arrested, taken into custody and charged with being concerned in the supply of class-A drugs and unlawful escape from prison.
Nelson was found guilty at York Crown Court earlier this week and jailed for 11 years.
After the hearing, PC Wayne Sharrocks of North Yorkshire Police said: “Kyle Nelson used his extensive criminal network to escape from a nine-year prison sentence for drug supply offences, flee the country, and live a life of luxury abroad.
“When he finally returned to the UK, he immediately continued selling crack cocaine and heroin on the streets of York using his own brand name ‘Banksy’.
“Operation Sentry works closely with intelligence analysts and other operational support units within North Yorkshire Police to tackle county drug lines operating.
“In this instance we were able to gather evidence, attribute it to Nelson and arrest him within weeks of becoming aware of the Banksy drugs line and put Nelson back behind bars, where he belongs.
“The 11-year sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence.
"We continue to work hard to stop county lines operating in North Yorkshire.”