“That drugs line was run on a commercial basis, with users being offered discounts over messages, including on weekends”

A drug phone line operating on a “commercial” scale was responsible for flooding South Yorkshire’s streets with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cocaine and heroin over a period of just 72 days.

Andre Walters, Geoffrey Hooton and Alan Latham are all now languishing behind bars after involving themselves in the line, which was operating from the Rotherham area, selling both cocaine and heroin.

Andre Walters (middle), Geoffrey Hooton (right) and Alan Latham (left) are all now languishing behind bars after involving themselves in the line, which was operating from the Rotherham area, selling both cocaine and heroin | Adobe/South Yorkshire Police

placeholder image — Andre Walters (middle), Geoffrey Hooton (right) and Alan Latham (left) are all now languishing behind bars after involving themselves in the line, which was operating from the Rotherham area, selling both cocaine and heroin | Adobe/South Yorkshire Police

Jailing the three men for a combined total of 15 years and eight months, Judge Anthony Dunne said that while it was not possible to know the precise amount of money earned through the line, it is thought to be in the region of “multiple hundreds of thousands of pounds” in just 72 days.

During that time, the line is thought to have sold around two kilograms of both of the Class A drugs.

“That drugs line was run on a commercial basis, with users being offered discounts over messages, including on weekends,” Judge Dunne told a hearing held on June 16, 2026.

He told Sheffield Crown Court hearing that even when “police intervention” brought the line down, it would become operational a short time later through the use of new SIM cards and phone handsets.

All three defendants pleaded guilty to charges of supplying controlled drugs of Class A, namely heroin and cocaine, at earlier hearings.

Walters, aged 37, was a “leading figure in this operation,” Judge Dunne told Sheffield Crown Court.

He added that as a result of his role, Walters had an “expectation of substantial financial advantage.”

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Judge Dunne jailed Walters, now of HMP Lindholme, Doncaster, for eight years, eight months.

He also has previous convictions for drug offences dating back to 2006 and 2009, the court heard.

Judge Dunne noted the progress Walters has made during his time in custody on remand, and said he hoped he would continue with the progress during the remainder of his prison sentence.

47-year-old Hooton and Latham, aged 52, ruled Judge Dunne, had lesser roles in the operation, extending to street-level dealing.

The court was told that both defendants each had pre-existing drug addictions, and their expectation of financial reward would not have gone far beyond covering their own drug-use.

Judge Dunne noted, however, that their involvement in the line extended to “multiple occasions.”

Turning to their mitigation, Judge Dunne said both men had taken steps to address their addiction issues.

Left to right: Andre Walters; Allan Latham and Geoffrey Hooton | syp

He noted Hooton’s ongoing health issues, and said he had taken them into consideration.

Judge Dunne sentenced Hooton, of Beckett Crescent, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham to 40 months’ custody, and Latham, of Studmoor Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, to 45 months’ imprisonment.

The defendants were arrested over their involvement in the drug line in April 2023, and Judge Dunne said he had taken the delay in the case reaching court into consideration when fixing the appropriate sentences for each of them.