A drug dealer who escaped from prison and fled to Thailand to live in “luxury” has been jailed. Kyle Nelson, 38, was a main player in a major County Lines network that sold heroin, crack cocaine and other dangerous drugs in York, North Yorkshire.
Escape and life abroad
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.
He used a forged passport naming him as “Carl Green” to escape halfway across the world. While there, he embarked on a lavish lifestyle and bought expensive items, including a Rolex watch worth thousands of pounds.
Return and new drug line
Nelson, originally from Manchester but lived in Acomb, York, returned to the UK in 2025. Upon returning home, he immediately began running class-A drugs in an organised crime network which he codenamed the 'Banksy line'. County Lines is the term given to drug networks run by organised crime groups that cross county boundaries and take over rural areas.
Drug 'lines' are a text message 'hotline' to large numbers of customers, according to Police. Organised crime groups use it to broadcast information about their stock and arrange deals.
Arrest and sentencing
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 tried to evade detection by moving between addresses, and harboured by criminal associates, police say. But 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.
A shocking image taken from a phone revealed how Nelson was the principal controller of the Banksy line. 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 by a unanimous decision at York Crown Court on Wednesday, August 12, and immediately sentenced to an 11-year custodial sentence.
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.”
