20 sentenced for Liverpool city centre drug supply
Main article content
UPDATE:
Two men have been jailed today (Friday 28 February) at Liverpool Crown Court for their part in a conspiracy to supply drugs on the streets of Liverpool city centre.
It brings the total sentenced as part of the investigation to 22 people, after 20 men appeared in court at earlier hearings, and the total sentence for the offenders to 53 years, six months.
Today, Badruldin Mohamed Ahmed, 32 (28/01/1988), of Whittier Street, Toxteth was sentenced to three years, nine months for conspiracy to supply cocaine and Yusuf Omar, 26 (02/05/1993) of Geraint Street, Toxteth was sentenced to four years for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
JAILED: Badruldin Ahmed and Yusuf Omar (left to right)
ORIGINAL RELEASE
A total of 20 offenders have been sentenced for a conspiracy to supply drugs to revellers in Liverpool city centre - including 12 who have been jailed for nearly 55 years.
The men were arrested after a seven-month investigation into a significant level of dealing in some of the most popular areas of the city including Concert Square, Fleet Street, Wood Street, Slater Street and Bold Street.
Merseyside Police launched the investigation in direct response to concerns raised by community leaders and licensed premises owners about drug dealing in the city, and the issues associated including violent assaults, robberies, thefts and knife crime.
The network of offenders, often seen wearing sportswear, were captured on CCTV dealing to clubbers in the evenings.
They often used nitrous oxide capsules to blow up balloons, in a bid to get the attention of potential customers, and younger members of the group acted as lookouts and runners. They would often be seen escorting customers to their drug dealing locations.
Some of the offenders sold Class A drugs including cocaine and ecstasy to undercover officers , as well as paracetamol they claimed was Class A drugs. Intimidation and violence was used against some customers who later challenged the group, possibly after discovering they had been sold paracetamol.
Through surveillance and investigative work, police established the roles played by all the defendants in their drug dealing enterprise.
Comprehensive telephone enquires established ‘graft’ phones had been used by the offenders to send out more than 13,500 text messages to customers to advertise the sale of drugs, and the locations and times they would be available. In addition, evidence of payphone kiosks being used to call the ‘graft’ phones was identified.
After extensive evidence of their offending had been gathered, the offenders were arrested during a series of early morning warrants in May and June 2019, and today (Friday 7 February 2020), many of the 22 males were sentenced to a total of 54 years, nine months for their roles in the conspiracy.
- Lewis Bramoh, 19 (11/11/2000), of Jermyn Street, Toxteth was sentenced to seven years, two months in a Young Offenders Institution for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- Abdul Kadir, 23 (1/12/1996), of Liffey Street, Toxteth was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to supply of cocaine
- Haitham Alasaly, 20 (22/09/1999), of Corinto Street, Toxteth was sentenced to seven years in a Young Offenders Institution for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- Ibrahim Fox, 28 (16/09/1991), of Geraint Street, Toxteth was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- Vito Morgan, 19 (10/11/2000), of Holly Street, Manchester was sentenced to two years, three months in a Young Offenders Institution for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- Ryan Brown, 19 (08/07/2000), of Esmond Street, Anfield was sentenced to six years, two months in a Young Offenders Institution for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- Justin Sebastian, 19 (10/01/2001), of John Lennon Drive, Liverpool was sentenced to three years, four months in prison for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- An 18-year-old man from Kensington was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- Abdulhalim Seidu, 20 (10/02/1989), of Princess Road, Toxteth was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to supply cocaine, possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply (Class A, B and C) and possession of criminal property
- William Deschamp, 43 (11/01/1976), of Lilley Road, Kensington was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- James Quick, 19 (30/06/2000), of Irwell Close, Aigburth was sentenced to a 12-month community order, 20 Rehabilitation Activity days and 20 hours at an attendance centre for offering to supply cocaine
- Mohammed Jama, 34 (15/08/1985), of no fixed address was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and 20 Rehabilitation Activity days for offering to supply cocaine
- Wasim Habbub, 26 (02/05/1993), of no fixed abode was sentenced to 22 months in prison for offering to supply cocaine and breach of a suspended sentence
- Liam Jones, 22 (21/10/1997), of Sandy Road, Seaforth was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for 18 months for offering to supply cocaine
- Jason Singh, 32 (31/01/1988), of Upper Warwick Street, Toxteth was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months for offering to supply cocaine
- Leo Benain, 23 (18/07/1996), no fixed address was sentenced to 12 months in prison for possession of a section 5 Firearm (a Taser), possession of a firearm during a five year period following suspended sentence (section 21 under the Firearms act), and possession of cannabis
- Alexander Fairclough, 19 (22/02/2000), of Walton Village, Walton was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in a Young Offenders Institution for conspiracy to supply cocaine
- Lewis Killen, 19 (07/05/2000), of Pulford Street, Anfield was fined £380 for possession of controlled drugs (Class A & B)
- Hayden Howarth, 20 (18/04/1999), of Mather Avenue, Allerton was sentenced to a six-month conditional discharge and fined £105 for possession of controlled drugs (Class B)
- A 17-year-old male from Crosby was sentenced to a two-year rehabilitation order for conspiracy to supply cocaine
Badruldin Mohamed Ahmed, 32 (28/01/1988), of Whittier Street, Toxteth and Yusuf Omar, 26 (02/05/1993) of Geraint Street, Toxteth have been convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and will be sentenced on Friday 14 February.
Detective Sergeant Tim Farley said: "Liverpool has a hard-earned and well-deserved reputation for being a safe place to enjoy a night out. We share the determination of residents, businesses and visitors to ensure it stays that way.
"Drug dealers who bring with them dangerous drugs, and violently enforce their illicit trade, risk damaging that status and the city’s economic wellbeing. The fact these offenders have been sentenced today means the city is a safer place to go out and have a good time.
"This operation targeted those suspected of directly selling Class A drugs on the street as well as those higher up the chain who have pocketed much of the profits of their illegal enterprise.
"The jailing of these males has cut their supply chain. But we will not be complacent - we know others will seek to profit from the sale of illicit drugs, and we will continue to carry out investigations into anyone suspected of doing the same.
"My message to those involved in drug dealing in the city centre is that we will continue to take action to target you and you will not know where we are and who we are targeting.
"As well as identifying those responsible for selling drugs and bringing them to justice, we deploy a wide range of tactics in the city centre including high visibility patrols to deter criminal activity, Section 60 dispersal orders and covert patrols."
Det Sgt Farley added: "Some people may regard taking illicit drugs on a weekend as a bit of fun – I want those people to stop and think about the violence, threats and intimidation involved in their supply, and the vulnerable people exploited to do the dirty work of those higher up the chain.
"In many cases, guns have been used to settle disputes between drug dealers. Those people who buy those drugs are effectively funding the purchase of weapons that bring so much harm and fear to the streets of Merseyside.
"I would like to thank the investigation teams and partner agencies for their hard work, dedication and one team approach to make the communities safer to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and drug dealing."
Community Inspector Charlotte Irlam for Liverpool city centre added: "When our officers attend reports of assault in the city centre, they often find offenders have been acting violently after taking cocaine. It is therefore essential for the safety of the public, and the health of drug users, that we stop the supply of cocaine.
"We do not want visitors to this great city to have to face the prospect of falling victim to such acts of violence - or even witnessing them - while enjoying a night out.
"Despite these isolated incidents, Liverpool remains one of the safest cities in the UK to enjoy a night out and is awarded Purple Flag status every year. When you consider that around 100,000 people flock to the city on the average Saturday night, the number of incidents are relatively low and you are far more likely to enjoy a safe and enjoyable night out than witness or experience a crime.
"We are determined to help keep it that way, and we are helped in our efforts by bar staff, door security, licensed premises owners and other partner agencies, who all play a key role in maintaining the reputation of the city.
"The vast majority of the public do not want to witness drug dealing when on a night out, and they have been absolutely crucial in supplying us with information.
"When concerns are expressed about drug dealing and violence in the city, we take our responsibility to do something about it very seriously, and ask anyone with information about those involved in drug supply to keep contacting us.
"That is why we devoted resources to carrying out this investigation, and I hope the jailing of those suspected of supplying drugs on the streets of the city centre shows we will not stand by and allow criminals to threaten the safety of visitors."
Anyone with information on drug dealing should contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously
