Liverpool and Cornwall county lines drug gang 'Scouse Mick' jailed
- Published
The gang used the Royal Mail to post cash back to Liverpool
Four men who ferried drugs and cash between Liverpool and Cornwall have been jailed.
The men, operating under the name "Scouse Mick", were operating a county lines drug-dealing gang.
The gang brought drugs from Liverpool to Cornwall by car and used the Royal Mail to post the money back to the city.
Det Sgt Gerard Farley, from Merseyside Police, said the force was "pleased they are now behind bars".
Kevin Condliffe, 46 of Carr Lane East, Liverpool, was jailed for nine years and six months.
Richard McLean, 39, of Curtana Crescent, Liverpool, was sentenced to eight years and six months and Jonathan Fincham, 52, of Pellor Fields, Helston, Cornwall, jailed for six years and six months at Truro Crown Court on Friday.
Kieron Ellis, 44, of Carbis Bay, St Ives, Cornwall, was jailed for seven years on Monday.
All pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin.
The police investigation found 140 parcels had been posted to Liverpool.
'Key figures'
Based on the weight of the parcels, the force believes they contained more than £560,000 in cash.
During the drug operation, a carrier bag containing £50,000 worth of heroin in coffee jars was left in pub near Newquay, and seized by police.
The men were caught following Operation Foxshine, a police investigation into the supply of controlled drugs by an organised crime group operating by using a telephone number entitled "Scouse Mick".
Det Sgt Farley said: "The four men involved were key figures in the drug supply chain from Liverpool to Cornwall and we are pleased they are now behind bars and unable to cause any more harm in our communities."
Christine Hart, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said the use of the Royal Mail postal service to send cash back to Liverpool was a "unique tactic".
She added:"Drug-related crime is corrosive - it damages not only those involved in buying and selling and their families, but the communities in which they live."
A spokesperson for the Royal Mail said it would "always do everything we can to make our service extremely hostile to criminals".
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