Brandon Hodson: Sheffield drug line managed by dealer who "cuckooed" vulnerable man made £82k in just 63 days

• Dealer exploited and took control over the home of a “vulnerable man” after meeting him outside a chemist he attended for his daily dose of methadone
• Hodson and two other men put the complainant into the back of a van, before taking him to his address where they “set up” shop
• Defendant was caught after being captured on CCTV buying a phone top-up for a handset associated with the drug line
• Over a 63-day period, the drug line is estimated to have made £82,000, and sent over 12,000 advertising messages

Defendant Brandon Hodson had a management role within the operation, selling heroin and crack cocaine, with a number of other males working for him, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Hodson is said to have preyed upon the complainant - a recovering drug addict - a short time after he was moved away from another part of Yorkshire, where he was subjected to similar treatment at the hands of an organised crime group based there, said prosecutor Gill Batts.

The court heard how Hodson, of Blackstock Road, Gleadless Valley, Sheffield, met the complainant outside a chemist, where he was picking up his daily dose of methadone to help him manage his recovery.

Ms Batts told Sheffield Crown Court: “The prosecution say the complainant was cuckooed…his house was used to prepare drugs for sale.”

The practice of taking over a person’s property through force, coercion or deceit is referred to as “cuckooing” and is regularly used by organised crime groups, or gangs (OCGs).

Sending Hodson to begin an eight-year prison sentence for drug dealing offences, the judge Mr Justice Fordham said he regarded his “exploitation” of the complainant, and the “control” he wielded over his home, to be an aggravating factor.

He told Hodson: “It was apparent to you he was a drug user, you realised you could take advantage of that.

“And that is what you did. You and two others put him in the back of a van and took him to his flat. You then set up inside his flat.”

“You used a cooking stove to prepare crack cocaine there.”

“You threatened and intimidated the complainant. You used him to drive you around in a BMW to various locations.”

The “Gleadless estate” is among the locations where Hodson would deliver drugs, a hearing held on April 2, 2025 heard.

“Very often there would be males with him who would answer the phone,” said Ms Hodson.

The complainant “did what he was told,” claimed Ms Batts, “not because he wanted to, but because he was in fear of what would happen if he did not.”

Mr Justice Fordham told the court that the complainant was “used” and “exploited” by Hodson over a period of around six months, running between April and November 2023.

An investigation was launched after the complainant went to the police, after managing to leave Sheffield, and provided police with two numbers used by Hodson for the drug line.

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Ms Batts said the mobile phones, as is common with those involved with the supply of drugs, used pay as you go SIM cards which do not require the user to register their details with a phone network.

Hodson, aged 25, was confirmed as one of the drug line’s users when CCTV captured him buying a credit top-up for the phone at a Premier store in the Batemoor area of the city, the court heard.

Ms Batts revealed how subsequent analysis of the two phone lines revealed their location at the beginning and end of the day to be at two addresses associated with Hodson.

The drug line’s level of business was analysed over a 63 day period - working back from March 3, 2024, the date Hodson was caught buying the top-up.

During that period, the drug line sent a total of 10,520 bulk “broadcast” messages to some 256 unique numbers, advertising that the drug line was “active” and had both crack cocaine and heroin for sale, said Ms Batts.

She also revealed the drug line was in operation 24 hours a day. It was found to be the “most active” between the hours of 10pm and 3am, with between 33 and 730 events logged per day.

The court heard how data taken from two phones associated with the drug line revealed how, during that same 63-day period, it is believed to have sold amounts of heroin and crack cocaine worth an estimated £82,080.

Ms Batts said this was comprised of 364.8 grams of crack cocaine sold in 0.1 gram deals for £10 each to a total of £36,480; along with 456 grams of heroin sold in the same quantities for the same amount, to a total of £45,600.

Hodson pleaded guilty to charges of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin on the first day of his trial on Monday, March 31, 2025.

He has subsequently been acquitted of charges of possessing a firearm and holding a person in slavery or servitude, after the prosecution offered no evidence to those offences.

During Monday’s hearing, Hodson entered a basis of plea, which has been accepted by prosecutors, stating that he “does not accept he was ever in possession of a firearm or any weapon.” Hodson’s basis of plea also asserts that he does not accept he was “linked to events in (another part of Yorkshire).”

Defending, Ian West referred Mr Justice Fordham to three letters prepared on his behalf, and detailed the roles he plays in the lives of both his biological children and his step children through his partner.

Mr West said Hodson is beset with issues arising from mental health conditions including depression and anxiety, and was given diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia.

He told the court that Hodson was permanently expelled from school at the age of 14, following which he has never returned to education and found himself going down the “wrong path in life, undoubtedly tempted by the financial gains.”

Another decision which served to take Hodson down the wrong path, suggested Mr West, was coming off his prescribed ADHD medication at a young age.

He asked the judge to take the fact Hodson was aged between 23 and 24 at the time of the offences, along with his lack of previous convictions into consideration.

Mr West told the court that the year Hodson has spent on remand has given him time to reflect, and in addition to being remorseful, he is now intent on “turning his life around” and getting back on the right path.

Hodson has also been making the most of opportunities in custody, and has obtained employment in a number of roles including window cleaner.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Fordham said he agreed with Mr West’s assertion that Hodson had a “local management role within a chain” as opposed to selling “raw” amounts of Class A drugs to others lower in the chain, to be cut with agents such as paracetamol.

“You were a local manager, an enforcer…your expectation was of significant financial advantage. You knew the scale of the operation, you were in charge of a group of young men. You were the big man, the big b,” Mr Justice Fordham told the defendant, adding that the 386 days he has spent on remand will count towards his sentence.

In addition to jailing Hodson, Mr Justice Fordham also granted a restraining order prohibiting Hodson from contacting the complainant until further order of the court.

A proceeds of crime timetable was also set during the hearing, as part of proceedings designed to analyse the true value of Hodson’s criminal gains, along with how much it will be possible to claw back for the public purse.