Liverpool and Maryport Drugs gang jailed for county lines scheme

Prosecutors said Shaun Doyle was the "kingpin" of the gang

Five people have been jailed for their parts in running a county lines drugs gang.

The three men from Liverpool and a man and woman from Maryport, Cumbria, were part of the scheme to bring heroin and crack cocaine from Merseyside to Workington by road and rail.

Among those jailed at Carlisle Crown Court was "kingpin" Shaun Doyle who was sentenced to 10 years and one month.

Two other people were given suspended prison sentences.

Prosecutors said the gang run by Doyle operated for seven months.

Between mid-July of 2019 and February 2020, Doyle, 27, controlled a "drug line" phone number from which "text flares" were sent to multiple users at a time advertising illicit substances for sale, prosecutors said.

Operating under Doyle in the chain of command were trusted right-hand man Jacob Hughes-O'Brien, 27, and drug-runner Thomas Jameson, 29, the court heard.

Jacob Hughes-O'Brien and Thomas Jameson were also trusted members of the gang

Hughes-O'Brien was caught with an illegal stash potentially worth £40,000 by police who raided the home of Lee Kirkpatrick, 38, at Harrington, near Workington, in November 2019.

Officers had mounted surveillance which showed he and Jameson arriving separately by train in Workington the day before.

Jameson was smartly dressed in a blazer and tie, carrying a rucksack and laptop case and, said prosecutor Julian Goode, "to all intents and purposes he looked like the average professional commuter".

It was "unlikely" he would have been stopped and, had police not witnessed that he and Hughes-O'Brien were met by another suspect, "there is little doubt the plan would have worked".

Acting as street dealers were then-partners James Postlethwaite, 46, and Karen Pullin, 37, both of Senhouse Street, Maryport, and 38-year-old Paula Jackson of Co-Operative Terrace, Flimby.

Between 5kg and 8kg of illegal drugs could have been trafficked into the area during the plot, police concluded.

James Postlethwaite and Karen Pullin were each jailed for three-and-a-half years

Doyle, of Reedale Road, Hughes-O'Brien, of Altfinch Close, and Jameson, of Towers Road, all Liverpool, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Pullin and Postlethwaite were convicted on both counts after a trial.

Jackson admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine only, while Kirkpatrick admitted permitting premises to be used in the supply of a class A drug.

Hughes-O'Brien was jailed for a seven years, Jameson for four years 10 months and Postlethwaite and Pullin for three-and-a-half years each.

Jackson had a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years and Kirkpatrick's 24-week jail term was suspended for 18 months.

Both Jackson and Kirkpatrick, who is now of Newby Bridge near Windermere, must also each complete 100 hours' unpaid work.