Eight jailed for county lines drugs plot

The gang was involved in a drugs plot which involved children

Eight people have been jailed for their role in a county lines plot which involved children delivering Class A drugs.

The group was sentenced after being convicted of conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine in Barrow and Manchester, between September 2022 and January 2023.

Preston Crown Court heard Jordan Baker, 28, had a leading role in the gang and he was jailed for seven years.

Det Con Graeme Benson from Cumbria Police said the plot had been "complex and far-reaching".

It was estimated the county line supplied drugs with a street value estimated at more than £110,000 in Barrow over a four-month period, the court was told.

Baker, of Hulme Street, Salford, was sending bulk advertisement messages to local drug users, the court heard, preparing large amounts of Class A drugs for sale and co-ordinating other members of the gang.

Jordan Baker played a leading role in the plot, the court was told

The defendants jailed were:

• Sarah Sayle, 50, of Beech Street, Barrow, for five years and eight months

• Moneeb Sheikh, 26, of Rosslyn Road, Manchester, for two years and seven months

• Hannah Feeley, 25, of Stelfox Street, Eccles, for three years

• John Thompson, 44, of Wordsworth Street, Barrow, for five years and five months

• Kirsty Davidson, 36, of Wordsworth Street, Barrow, for four years and eight months

• Latham Burke, 50, of Raglan Court, Barrow, for three years

• Steven Payne, 54, of Broad Close, Barrow, for two years and six months

Sarah Sayle was sentenced to almost six years in prison

Sheldon McDuffus, 26, of Stelfox Street, Eccles, was also sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, for possession with intent to supply cannabis.

Det Con Benson said the sentences, handed down on 15 July, were "significant".

"This was a complex and far-reaching conspiracy which involved the exploitation of children in order to further exploit local drug addicts, primarily in the Barrow area," he added.