(L to R) Birmingham dealers - Daniel Keith Ellis, 30, of Oscott Road / Christina Stelious Xiourroupas, 35, of Old Grange Road / Patrick King, 38, of Osler Street (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

Birmingham's 'ghost line' drug dealers uncovered as gang ringleader skips court and goes on the run

by · Birmingham Live

Birmingham drug dealers operating under the name 'Ghost' have been jailed - but the gang's ringleader remains on the run from police. Three county lines dealers who lived in the city were sentenced this week as police hit back: "We ain't afraid of no ghost."

The group, who referred to their own operation as the 'Ghost line', flooded Scarborough with heroin and crack cocaine between August 2017 and January 2018. North Yorkshire Police has spent the last six years dismantling the gang, with members jailed on Tuesday (Nov 5) and in October.

Conspiracy ringleader Riccardo Nathaniel Donalds, of Oscott Road, Birmingham, failed to turn up at York Crown Court for the sentencing - and a warrant has now been issued for the 36-year-old's arrest.

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His ex-girlfriend Christina Stelious Xiourroupas, 35, of Old Grange Road, Birmingham was among those jailed after police uncovered thousands of pounds passing between their bank accounts.

Detective Constable Darrel Temple from Scarborough and Ryedale CID, who led the investigation, said: “Referring to their own county lines drugs conspiracy as ‘Ghost’, the group thought they could operate with impunity between the West Midlands and Scarborough.

“Unfortunately for them, North Yorkshire Police ‘ain’t afraid of no ghost’ or any other drug dealers for that matter, and we set about a complex investigation to dismantle the gang. It has taken the best part of six years to secure justice against the offenders. This effort shows our determination to rid our community of the harms caused by drug-related crime.”

Christina Stelious Xiourroupas, 35, of Old Grange Road, Birmingham, got three and a half years’ imprisonment.

The following defendants were sentenced on November 5:

  • Christina Stelious Xiourroupas, 35, of Old Grange Road, Birmingham, was handed three and a half years’ imprisonment
  • Javough Denmar Ennis, 27, currently of HMP Leicester, was given two years’ imprisonment
  • Neil Kenneth Gordon, 22, of Sandstone Road, Eastfield, Scarborough, got two and a half years’ imprisonment

These defendants were sentenced on October 17:

  • Daniel Keith Ellis, 30, of Oscott Road, Birmingham, was jailed for three and a half years
  • Patrick King, 38, of Osler Street, Birmingham, got four and a half years’ imprisonment.
  • Theo John Waldron, 29, of Longwestgate, Scarborough, got a 15-month suspended sentence as he was already in prison
Patrick King, 38, of Osler Street, Birmingham, got four and a half years’ imprisonment.

The criminals came to the attention of Scarborough Police during the early hours of January 16, 2018 when a vehicle driven by King was stopped in Scarborough, with Donalds, Ennis and Ellis inside. Weapons, mobile phones and digital scales, complete with traces of heroin and crack cocaine, were all recovered from the vehicle.

On January 25, 2018, Waldron was arrested in possession of heroin with intent to supply. His phone was seized and examined which showed links to the ‘Ghost’ group. Police carried out a "complex investigation", eventually linking Neil Gordon to the group.

He was aged 16 at the time and was taking direction from Donalds and the others to supply to local Class A users in Scarborough. Mobile phone analysis, call data analysis and ANPR evidence, showed the group were working together - with Donalds at the helm - to sell heroin and crack cocaine in Scarborough using several deal lines.

Daniel Keith Ellis, 30, of Oscott Road, Birmingham, got three and a half years’ imprisonment.

Financial investigations showed thousands of pounds passing through the bank accounts of Donalds and Xiourroupas, who was Donalds’ partner at the time.

CCTV also captured other group members paying money into Donalds’ bank account in Scarborough, while Donalds waited to withdraw the cash in the West Midlands. All were subsequently charged in January 2023 with conspiring together to supply heroin and crack cocaine in Scarborough.

All pleaded guilty at various stages with Donalds, Xiourroupas and Ellis pleading on the day of their trial in September 2023. King failed to appear at court, and it took several months for him to be apprehended which caused a further delay in bringing the case to a conclusion.

Javough Denmar Ennis, 27, currently of HMP Leicester, got two years’ imprisonment

King was the only one who did not admit his crimes. He was found guilty by jury on October 3, 2024 following a four-day trial. Gordon was arrested in March 2023 following a separate investigation where phone evidence showed he was supplying cocaine and cannabis.

When he was arrested a quantity of cocaine, cannabis and cash were recovered from Gordon’s address. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

Theo John Waldron, 29, of Longwestgate, Scarborough, got a 15-month suspended sentence as he was already in prison.

Gordon was also sentenced for the separate offences of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis between September 2022 and March 2023 and possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis from March 2023.

Waldron had already been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment following his arrest in January 2018 for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. A wanted appeal is due to be issued in relation to Donalds.