Drug boss who taunted cops to ‘prove it’ caught out by his own rap lyrics

Six members of the drug gang appeared in court after bragging about their drug empire in a rap song

A brazen drug dealer who flooded Redcar with heroin and crack cocaine even recorded a rap bragging about his criminal empire, before daring detectives to “prove it”.

The track, discovered on Bradley Clough’s phone, boasted about how he “ run the town with white and brown ”, as his gang pumped kilos of class A and C drugs across North Yorkshire. But the dealer’s luck ran out when police thwarted the complex operation.

Six members of the enterprise appeared before court on Friday (April 11) as Clough, 25, was jailed for 15 years, while his right‑hand man, Callum Quinn, 26, was handed an 11‑year stretch. The remaining defendants were also locked up for their lesser roles.

Clough, 25, of Thrush Road, Redcar, was “top of the tree” in the conspiracy, which officers foiled in September 2024. The gang racked up an estimated £80,000 during their enterprise, which utilised two drug lines to advertise deals of heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and zopiclone tablets.

A cocky Clough told officers to “prove it” when quizzed about his crimes, something which officers were able to do by using photos and his the suspect’s own rap song about drugs taken from his phone, a court heard.

The lyrics of Clough’s rap said:

A run this town with white and brown / A got a mad little crack round / No weed a smoke more than your selling / Come round here a teach yas all a lesson / What a got and what a made a count it all. As a blessing / Coz wen a was in my cell man a was stressing about my line / Ppl taking the p**s coz a got bit of time / My new grafter trying to snake me on my line.

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“Clough was the main ringleader of the group and set the drugs line up when he was released from prison last year. He ran the operation but didn’t go near the drugs,” explained Detective Sergeant, Collingwood from the Dedicated Drugs Unit at Cleveland Police.

“He let the others do his dirty work. Crucial evidence taken from Clough’s phone included photos of him holding large amounts of cash, incriminating messages relating to the supply of drugs and even a rap song he had made about his drug dealing antics.

“Hopefully Clough’s time in prison will inspire further raps about what it’s like to spend time behind bars. We are pleased with the success of this investigation; taking drugs off the streets and five people in prison paying for their crimes.”