Jail for drug dealer who escaped from hospital to avoid arrest

A drug dealer, who escaped from Stepping Hill hospital with a drip still attached to his arm to avoid being caught by police, has been jailed for nearly nine years.

Paul Johnson was part of a county lines drug ring and was handed the reigns of the operation by leader Beren Marshall, who feared cops were starting to xlose in on him.

Back in March, three people including Marshall were jailed for more than 17 years after orchestrating the operation to deliver cash and cocaine across the country.

Marshall transferred the running of his drug business to Johnson after fearing the net was tightening around him.

They met a number of times and, once Marshall was behind bars, Johnson stepped into his shoes as the crime boss, arranging and directing huge quantities of Class A drugs.

Cops caught three of his associates at different locations around the country.

Stephen Moore and his driver Gareth Ridgeway were arrested together.

Ridgeway would ferry Moore - who didn't have a driver's licence - around the country but after Booth's arrest, they became the duo who kept Johnson's drug business alive.

They were on one of their deliver trips to Durham when road policing officers stopped them after found 1.5kg of cocaine on board the vehicle.

A month before the final arrests, a motorcycle stuffed with £43,000 was intercepted on its way to Johnson who was due to collect it in Stockport.

Linked to Coates, it was the final piece of evidence officers needed to close in on the gang but as they forced entry to Johnson’s house, they discovered he wasn’t there.

Before being able to make their way to Stepping Hill Hospital, where Johnson had been admitted, he had swiftly made his exit in his boxer shorts and jacket with his drip still attached.

Just days later, Johnson attended Cheadle Heath Police Station.

During the court case, the prosecution presented the fact that there were many more kilograms of Class A drugs ferried around the country by Booth, Moore and Ridgeway than the 2.5 kilograms worth that had been recovered by officers.

All of the defendants pleaded guilty and have today, Monday 18 March 2019, been jailed for more than 30 years.

Superintendent Emma Taylor, of GMP’s Stockport District, said: “Those in the Brinnington area will know of Paul Johnson and the harm that he has caused to the local area so I’m very pleased to say that today, we can certainly say he will be in prison and away from our area for a long time.

“Despite their predecessors having been locked up already, Johnson and his accomplices clearly didn’t get the message and carried on trying to make as much money as possible by ploughing Class A drugs as far and as wide as they could.

“The work our specialist colleagues in the Serious and Organised Crime Group have done to secure these convictions could not be done without the help of people living in the areas where these type of offenders operate.

“Our work does not stop here. We need you to help us build a true picture of crime in your neighbourhood, help us gather as much evidence as we can so we can put a stop to these people who ultimately cause harm to the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Anyone with information about crime in their area should contact police on 101 or via the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.