How a middle-aged mum turned sleepy farm into hub of cocaine drug empire – and is now one of UK’s most wanted fugitives

For years, she ran a covert drug operation from her family farm – now, she’s one of the most sought-after criminals in the country.

Driving through country lanes in her flashy white Audi, Lynne Leyson seemed a glam figure in her Welsh farming village.

Always “impeccably dressed” and with fancy hairstyles, one local said she travelled the narrow, tree-lined roads “as if she owned them”.

But now, the byways of idyllic Capel Dewi are quiet once more.

For middle-aged mum Leyson has become a fugitive from justice and is on the Most Wanted list.

Fleeing a cocaine dealing rap, the crime Godmother hasn’t been seen by police since skipping bail more than a year ago.

Some believe she may be in Thailand, others Spain.

Lynne Leyson is a fugitive from justice with a bounty on her head. Picture: WNS

Or could she be holed up in the valleys of rural south Wales?

Few locals in Capel Dewi, Carmarthenshire, doubted how the 52-year-old drug mastermind paid for her lifestyle, given the pungent smell of marijuana that wafted from the Leyson family’s ramshackle small- holding guarded by a pack of ferocious Dobermans.

But neighbours were taken aback when it emerged just how big a player in the criminal underworld Leyson really was.

Lynne’s husband Stephen was jailed for his part in what police describe as a major organised crime group. Picture: WNS

When cops raided her property in October 2021, they found more than £60,000 ($115,200 AUD) worth of cocaine, cannabis with a value of almost £16,000 ($30,720 AUD), cash and a semiautomatic pistol.

Dyfed-Powys police said the Leysons, headed by mum Lynne, sold “large quantities of cocaine and cannabis to sub-dealers across south west Wales”. And they warned the family “were capable of using violence and intimidation to enforce their illegal activities”.

Later, Leyson’s husband Stephen, 56, and son Samson, 23, were jailed for a total of 17 years for their part in what police called a major organised crime group.

Yet the mum, described by a trial judge as the “dominant force” in the drug dealing empire, never showed up for her sentencing hearing.

Jailed for nine years in her absence, she has seemingly vanished from the face of the Earth.

Like a Sicilian Mafia moll, Lynne Leyson is on the run with a bounty on her head.

Welsh police revealed this week that Crimestoppers is offering a £1,000 ($1,920 AUD) reward for news of her whereabouts — and she has been added to their Most Wanted list.

So how did this middle-aged mum end up a gangster?

‘Like the Wild West’

Once the nerve centre of her drug dealing operation, there were grey Atlantic clouds over the Leyson smallholding, Pibwr Farm, yesterday.

On the edge of sleepy Capel Dewi, the collection of wooden, single-storey buildings surrounded by abandoned vehicles and car parts, is reached by a single-track road.

Son Samson Leyson was also jailed for his role in the drugs empire. Picture: WNS

It is hardly the sort of place you would expect a major coke dealing operation to be based.

With country cottages set in rolling farmland, the usually peaceful village of dairy farmers and retirees is five miles east of Carmarthen, west Wales.

Red kites nest while visitors seek out the nearby National Botanic Garden of Wales.

But locals say Leyson’s farm saw little in the way of legitimate agricultural work.

“Unless you count cannabis,” one revealed. “We weren’t bothered about cannabis. But we didn’t know they were into the hard stuff.”

The Leysons moved to the property some six years ago.

Locals referred to them as “the druggies”, saying they used quad bikes to run narcotics through a forested area to couriers on the nearby A48 main road.

A neighbour explained: “That’s how they were running drugs. They would turn up at an arranged lay-by on the A48, hand the cocaine over and be gone.

“It was all over in a few seconds, so it was very hard for the police to detect what was going on.”

A police dog led his handler to a hedge where a green bag containing £60,000 worth of cocaine was discovered. Picture: WNS

The Leysons didn’t mix much with other locals. But as one villager recovered from an accident, the family gave them iced cupcakes laced with cannabis “to help with the pain”.

Another resident said: “Stephen was obviously a bad lot, but he was charming with it.”

They added that Lynne was “always beautifully dressed” and “impeccably made up” with her “hair done”.

The Leysons, both from South Wales, married in Swansea in 1998.

Lynne went to Dynevor School, which counts former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the Conservative MPs Nigel Evans and Julian Lewis among its former pupils.

The couple had three kids and moved to a council house in Kidwelly, around 13 miles south of Capel Dewi.

According to neighbours, Stephen — fresh from a prison sentence for GBH — and the family would cause mayhem.

One said the house was “filthy”, while the howls from their 13 Alaskan malamute dogs were ear-splitting.

Lynne worked as a carer but was prosecuted for theft after being reported for stealing from her clients.

Painstaking search

Kidwelly locals say the Leysons began selling drugs from an ice cream van.

An ex-neighbour told The Sunday Times: “He used to drive and she’d serve, but they were serving more than ice cream, put it that way.”

Then, one Friday, men in suits and with London accents turned up demanding cash from Stephen.

A neighbour recalled one saying: “You’ve got three days to get my money.”

By the Monday the Leysons had vanished, relocating to Capel Dewi, where Stephen’s father owned land.

They set about instigating their major drug supply network. A neighbour, too frightened to be named, said: “It was like the Wild West living close to that lot — people were scared stiff.

“Two of them may have been locked up but people are still frightened of them.”

In the early hours of October 27, 2021, police raided Pibwr Farm, searching the smallholding and its various buildings, sheds, storage units and caravan over two days.

A painstaking search revealed a 9mm semiautomatic self-loading pistol in a small canvas bag hidden in a ceiling cavity space. Picture: WNS

Cops found 120g of cannabis in the main building, more than £17,000 ($32,856 AUD) in cash and digital weighing scales with traces of white powder.

Another 290g of cannabis was found in a dog shed and a further kilo was concealed in a suitcase in the corner of a meadow.

Police sniffer dog Billy was taken for a walk in the field for a break and picked up the acrid scent of cocaine.

Following the trail, Billy led his handler to a hedge, where a green bag containing £60,000 ($115,200 AUD) worth of the Class A drug was discovered.

A painstaking search of a cabin at the scruffy smallholding revealed a 9mm semiautomatic self-loading pistol in a small canvas bag hidden in a ceiling cavity space.

Modified to fire live ammunition, it’s believed to be the first weapon of its kind ever found in the Dyfed-Powys police area.

When questioned, the Leysons claimed the cash was from “a house sale”. Stephen denied the handgun was his, adding that he “intended to hand it in to the police”.

Cops then identified street dealers selling Leyson’s narcotics, including one nicknamed Mr Pickles.

Last May, Lynne, Stephen and Samson were convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs. Stephen was also convicted of firearm possession.

Cops found 120g of cannabis in the main building Picture: WNS

He was sentenced to 11 years behind bars and Samson to six in July 2023. But Lynne skipped bail and failed to show for sentencing.

More than a year later, police still have no idea of her whereabouts.

Detective Chief Inspector Rhys Jones said this week: “I urge anyone with information of Leyson’s whereabouts to come forward.

“You can speak to Crimestoppers anonymously, which is offering a reward of up to £1,000 ($1,920 AUD) for information leading to her arrest.

“She is known to have connections in the Carmarthen and Swansea area, but may have travelled further afield.”

Her half brother Patrick Brooke, 56, said: “Nobody has had anything to do with her. No one even knew anything about the court case. I didn’t even know she was married.

“My dad had a place in Thailand. It is in a village.

“She may be heading to Thailand. She won’t be coming to us.”

Simon Brooke, 64, another half brother, said: “We do not know why she ended up like this.”

So could Leyson be hiding in the South Wales hills she knows so well?

Back at the farm, a man answering the door yesterday, believed to be a relative, insisted: “She’s not here, I don’t know where she is.”

And a villager, who didn’t want to be named, said: “I heard she’s gone abroad, it may have been Spain.”

Despite her mugshot being issued to all UK police forces, they appear to have so far drawn a blank.

The cocaine queen of little Capel Dewi is still cheating justice.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission.