Merseyside drugs gang - who stuffed car batteries and Amazon boxes with drugs - is jailed
They've been given a total of more than 60 years behind bars
A Merseyside based drugs gang, which shipped heroin and cocaine by stuffing drugs in car battery packs and Amazon boxes, has been jailed.
They exploited vulnerable adults as part of their operations to make 500 mile round trips to supply the drugs from Merseyside to Bournemouth.
But the gang ended up being busted by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU) working with Merseyside and Dorset police forces.
Nine of the ten gang members have now been sentenced to a total of more than 60 years in prison for their roles in running a ‘county line’ - which is where gang leaders use vulnerable people to transport drugs literally across county lines.
The group started out transporting the drugs and cash concealed in car battery packs, but after Richie McDonald was arrested they changed their tactics, instead using gift wrapped boxes and gift bags to hide their goods. At one stop check in Liverpool, £25k cash was seized which had been hidden in a gift wrapped box.
This caused the group to change their tactics again. This time, ‘fixer’ Olatunde Ademuyiwa arranged for a company to transport a VW Golf used by Thomas Garcia and James Brown to Liverpool on the back of a low loader where it was replaced with a Ford Mondeo before returning to Bournemouth. Stephen McDonald and Shaun Lewis were awaiting its arrival and, despite trying to run off, were arrested by SW ROCU officers. When the vehicle was searched, £100k worth of heroin and £50k worth of cocaine were found concealed inside the boot space.
Detective Inspector Adrian Hawkins from the SW ROCU said: “Led by Thomas Garcia and James Brown, this group went all out to try and avoid detection and keep their ‘Scouse Porky Line’ running, exploiting vulnerable adults to transport their drugs and cash along the way.
“They were regularly exchanging between 250 and 300 messages a day with drug users in Dorset, which shows the scale of their supply and the harm they were causing. All of this was managed from their homes in Merseyside – and even at one point while they travelled around Europe.
“The successful conviction of all 10 – including early guilty pleas from the key players – shows the strength of the evidence we secured against them, despite their best efforts, by working closely with the police forces at both ends of the ‘county line’.”
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Dilworth, of Dorset Police, said: “Dorset Police will not tolerate county line drug dealers who attempt to infiltrate our local communities and prey on vulnerable people.
“We will work tirelessly with partners and other law enforcement agencies to protect these communities and bring those involved to justice.”
Merseyside Superintendent Graeme Robson, Area Commander for Sefton area, said: “This crime group, like many before them, saw an opportunity to take their criminal business to areas they thought were a risk-free route to easy money. Today’s sentences show how wrong they were.
“Forces increasingly work together to share intelligence, carry out joint operations and ensure that borders are no obstacle to justice. Wherever in the country criminals attempt to operate, Merseyside Police and our partner forces and agencies will be there to investigate, and remove the risk and harm from whichever communities are affected.
“The issue of County Lines is uppermost in people’s minds at the moment and we want to keep it that way. Recognise the signs and tell police or Crimestoppers if you suspect someone vulnerable is being criminally exploited. We will do the rest.”
The main members of the organised crime group were arrested in simultaneous raids in Merseyside and Dorset in November 2018, including Thomas and Sean Garcia, James Brown and David Murphy.
Merseyside men Thomas Garcia, 26, from Blackdown Grove in St Helens and Sean Garcia, 30, from Osborne Road in Liverpool pleaded guilty to both conspiracies last January, with James Brown (aka ‘Scouse Porky’), 31, from Centenary Close in Liverpool, and David Murphy, 34, from Stranraer Road, Wigan, joining them the following month.
Stephen McDonald, 38, from Hanlon Close and Shaun Lewis, 27, from Leybourne Avenue – both in Bournemouth – and Richie McDonald, 35, from Granville Road in Poole also pleaded guilty to both conspiracies in February 2019.
Dealer Carl Norton, 41, from Turbary Park Road, Bournemouth, changed his plea to guilty mid-trial.
Olatunde Ademuyiwa, 31, from Purbeck Road in Bournemouth and dealer Craig Biddle, 27, of no fixed abode, were convicted on 11 July 2019 following a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.
Natasha Richardson, 49, from Russel Road, Bournemouth, was found not guilty of both conspiracies.
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