Detectives in Sefton are welcoming the sentencing of further members of a Southport Organised Crime Group (OCG) as part of a long-running operation, which takes the total sentences handed out to more than 125 years.
The three men and one woman were sentenced today (Friday 10 September) at Liverpool Crown Court. This followed an extensive investigation into the supply of drugs between 2018-2020 in Southport.
They are as follows:
23-year-old Cara Wilding of Hollins Court, The Larches, Hawarden, North Wales was sentenced to six years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs
21-year-old Daniel Crompton of no fixed address was sentenced to four years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs
23-year-old Lee McChrystal-Cole of Pighue Lane, Wavertree was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs
Additionally, 25-year-old Brenden Gillam of no fixed address was sentenced to 18 months suspended for two years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.
During the investigation, the OCG were identified as conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis and were subject to a strike day in October 2020, in which warrants were carried out and arrests made.
Three kilos of MDMA and two kilos of amphetamines were recovered at addresses in Bootle and North Wales. Cara Wilding also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in connection with this seizure. 38-year-old Patrick Hill of Hollins Court, The Larches, Hawarden, North Wales pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs and will be sentenced at a later date.
16 more men were previously sentenced in August to over 110 years in prison from the same investigation.
On 5 August, 19-year-old Arlie Bailey of Knowsley Road, Southport was also sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.
Speaking after the latest sentencings, Detective Inspector Catherine Walsh said: “These further sentencings mark the continuation of a massive investigation which has taken apart an OCG which has caused untold misery to the communities of Southport and beyond. I’m sure all of those who have been affected by their drug supply will share out satisfaction that they have been removed from the streets for the foreseeable future.
“Hopefully those jailed do reflect upon the risks taken, the harm caused, and the punishments handed out, and change their ways.
“We’re determined to act on all information received to make your communities safer from the harm that drug dealing and associated crime does. To that end, information from the public is vital and we will continue to act on all that we receive.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to remove drug dealers from our streets and provide our communities with a safe place to live, work and visit. My message to those engaged in organised crime is clear: we know who you are, we can see where you are operating, and we will come knocking.”
Anyone with information on drug dealing in supply in their community is asked to contact @MerPolCC, call 101 or Crimestoppers UK anonymously on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.
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