These are some members of the gang who appeared in court today after police smashed a county lines drug plot, which aimed to bring crack cocaine and heroin into West Cumbria.
At Carlisle Crown court, seven people were sentenced for their part in the criminal enterprise, which took place between mid-July 2019 and February 2020.
Shaun Doyle, 27, of Liverpool, was described by the prosecution at Carlisle Crown Court today as the kingpin of a conspiracy.
Operating under Doyle in the chain of command were trusted lieutenant and right hand man Jacob Hughes-O’Brien, also aged 27; and dependable drug runner Thomas Jameson, 29.
Hughes-O’Brien had been caught with an illegal stash potentially worth £40,000 by police who raided a house at Harrington in November of 2019.
Acting as those street dealers were three West Cumbria residents — then partners James Postlethwaite, 46, and Karen Pullin, 37, both of Senhouse Street, Maryport; along with 38-year-old Paula Jackson, of Co-Operative Terrace, Flimby.
A seventh defendant, 38-year-old Lee Kirkpatrick, was a tenant of the Harrington safe house used for storage and drug distribution.
Doyle was jailed for 10 years and one month, Hughes-O’Brien received a seven-year prison sentence and Jameson was locked up for four years, 10 months.
Of the four Cumbrians, Postlethwaite and Pullin were each jailed for three-and-a-half years; Jackson had a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years; and Kirkpatrick’s 24-week jail term was suspended for 18 months. Jackson and Kirkpatrick, now of Newby Bridge, near Windermere, must each complete 100 hours’ unpaid work; and she was also given two rehabilitation requirements — one for six months to specifically tackle drugs misuse.
Read how police smashed the drugs plot here.
Plan to flood Workington with crack cocaine and heroin – read more here.
