'Gangster godmother' on the run for months was caught to see her dogs

A drugs boss grandmother eluded police for months while on the Most Wanted list - but was caught coming back to see her beloved dogs, a court heard.

Lynne Leyson, 52, stayed on the move for 14 months and just as police were about to pounce she would be gone. A £1,000 bounty was offered and she is believed to have used a string of aliases after skipping bail.

Drugs gang leader Leyson - who presented herself as a respectable, rural grandmother - was jailed for nine years in her absence in 2023 after running a highly-organised drugs gang from a remote farm in Wales.

Police set up a special team to hunt her down using tracking devices, mobile phone analysis and information from all the major banks.

But she continued to give them the slip and even changed her name by deed poll and had a passport issued under the name Annelyn Caldicot.

Leyson was put on Britain's Most Wanted list of fugitives and her description was circulated to every police force in the UK. Interpol were alerted when Leyson bought a yacht in Brighton Marina and planned to sail it to Spain.

She was finally caught after 429 days at large when police were waiting when she returned to Pibwr Farm in quiet Capel Dewi, Carmarthenshire to see her Rottweilers.

Officers recovered over £60,000 of cocaine, £15,615 of cannabis, a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and cash - which the owners claimed was from a 'house sale'.

Swansea Crown Court heard Leyson was in possession of an NHS lanyard displaying the name Consultant Lead Neurologist Lynne Bailey.

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Scrubs, several stethoscopes and a booklet containing patients' names were also found and the NHS launched an inquiry.

Mother-of-two Leyson claimed the items were for a fancy dress party she had been to while on the run.

Prosecutor Ieuan Rees said: 'The medical uniform and equipment are an example of the lengths she has gone to evade the authorities.

'Extensive inquiries have been carried out by multiple police forces across the UK, it has been extremely resource intensive over the past 14 months.'

A £1,000 bounty was put up by Dyfed-Powys Police for information leading to the arrest of the farmer's wife who lived a double life as a multi-million pound drug runner.

There were reports she had fled to Thailand, Spain and Ireland but so far Leyson has refused to tell police her movements.

Mr Rees said: 'Border checks were conducted regarding foreign travel and extensive analysis of travel patterns of vehicles linked to Leyson were carried out.

'Inquiries were made with the DWP, the NHS database and through social media networks.

'There were cross border inquiries with Sussex Police following information she had bought a small sailing vessel called the Vigilanter, based at Brighton Marina.'

Police even listened in on prison phone calls made by her husband Stephen, 56, and son Samson, 25, who were jailed for a total of 17 years July 2023, the day she skipped bail.

Mr Rees said: 'On Monday 16 September this year, following several weeks of telecommunications inquiries and travel analysis, Leyson was located at Pibwr Farm, Capel Dewi, Carmarthen.'

Leyson appeared by video link from HMP Eastwood Park where she is starting her nine-year sentence for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs and possession of criminal property.

Dressed in a pink hooded sweatshirt she spoke only to confirm her real name and address and say 'guilty' to a charge of failing to surrender to her bail.

But the runaway grandmother had the last laugh - after 14 months on the run she was given just two months imprisonment to be served consecutively to her current sentence.

Judge Catherine Richards told her: 'You made plans to abscond and were on the run for 429 days. It was well planned and sophisticated.

'Inquiries were made across the UK and internationally with Interpol.

'There is no doubt this is a category 1A offence. It has an impact on other offences the police are diverted from investigating.'

Detective Chief Inspector Rhys Jones, who led the search for Leyson, said it sends a 'strong message' to organised crime gangs.

He said: 'The arrest shows our determination to find those who think they can evade justice.

'I would like to thank officers for their commitment, dedication, support, and persistence in bringing this element of the investigation to a successful conclusion.'

In a Proceeds of Crime hearing previously, Ieuan Rees, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court both Stephen and Lynne Leyson benefited from their criminal lifestyle to the tune of £77,967.

Investigators identified available assets in respect of Stephen in the sum of £33,147 and in respect of Lynne in the sum of £26,442.

Samson Leyson benefited from his involvement to the tune of £69,795 and investigators identified assets - including a TAG Heuer Formula 1 watch - worth £9,550.

After the case, one near-neighbour said: 'We just couldn't believe it.

'They seemed like a normal farming family, well a bit rough around the edges like a lot of country people. Lynne seemed very normal really - not a cocaine dealer like she was. It is all very odd.'