Dealers in ‘filthy drugs’ are jailed

Drug dealers supplying heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Lancaster and Morecambe have been jailed.
Must archive
Preston Crown Court in Preston city centre / viewMust archive
Preston Crown Court in Preston city centre / view
Must archive Preston Crown Court in Preston city centre / view

Preston Crown Court heard the head of the group, Paul Kelly, known as ‘Scouse Pete’, was suspected of supplying heroin and crack cocaine in to North Lancashire since 2012.

Police launched Operation Prefect into the supply of Class A drugs in Lancaster and Morecambe.

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The operation focused on drug dealing in Lancaster between May and October 2014.

During this time police recovered over £8k worth of class A drugs and over £5k in cash.

Kelly, from Norris Green, Liverpool, was organising local drug dealers from his base in Liverpool.

Local dealers were observed travelling to Wigan where they would meet with Kelly to exchange cash and drugs.

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They would then travel back to Lancaster where they would be directed by Kelly to local drug users.

Kelly was well imbedded with a complex network of dealers and ‘runners’ assisting him in making large amounts of cash.

During the operation the Lancaster Impact Team executed eight warrants under the misuse of drugs act and made over a dozen arrests.

Twenty five phones were seized and examined and provided the key information to unravelling this complex network.

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Adam Pearce, 35, of Gladstone Terrace, Lancaster, Aneurin Trench-Jellicoe, 42, of Sibsey Street, Lancaster;

Anthony Godfrey, 42, of Mount Ave, Lancaster; Darren Crawford, 43, of Whitbarrow Square, Lancaster; Katrina Wilson 33, of Dee Road, Lancaster; Paul Kelly, 29, of Richard Kelly Close, Liverpool and Stephen Lavelle, 21, of Kingswood Avenue, Liverpool, all pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Judge Cornwall sitting at Preston Crown Court said: “This is a well-travelled route from Merseyside to Lancaster, Morecambe and the south Lakes, it is not acceptable to ‘dump’ these filthy drugs in an area that is seen as an easy target”,

“These drugs cause misery to those involved with them and the families and friends of those involved but also to those who are victims of crimes committed to fund these addictions.”

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He sentenced Kelly to five years eight months for conspiracy to supply heroin and five years eight months for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine to run concurrently.

Stephen Lavelle was sentenced to two years eight months for the same offences again to run concurrently.

Crawford, Jellicoe and Pearce each received three years for the same offences and Godfrey three years for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine only.

Wilson was not present and will be sentenced at a later date.

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PC Andrew Clitheroe from the Lancaster and Morecambe Impact Team, said: “These are the individuals that you see massing on the cycle track and canal towpaths, and down the alleys.

“They are the people who make members of the public feel uncomfortable to walk past.

“This result was due in no small part to the information provided by the community and those who have had enough of drug dealing in our towns.

“We urge any member of the public with information to come forward and tell the police so that we can continue to tackle drug dealing in Lancaster and Morecambe.”