Paul Line drug gang leader ordered to repay ill-gotten gains

Steven Brett was involved in the Paul Line, members of which were jailed for nearly 30 years in April.

It was brought down by Operation Spartans – a Cheshire Police investigation which identified 11 separate organised crime groups responsible for flooding the town’s streets with more than £1million of heroin and crack cocaine.

Led by the 25-year-old from his Liverpool home while he worked on building sites across the city, this gang was the ‘second largest evidenced by officers’ during the covert county lines probe.

Brett organised couriers to collect drugs from his base in the Knotty Ash area, with the ring known to operate in Bank Park and brazenly deal on the car park of Lidl supermarket in Latchford, in full view of shoppers.

It is estimated that the gang was involved in the supply of between 0.78g and 1.56kg of class A drugs overall, coming with a street value in the region of £65,000 to £130,000.

Flare texts advertising their wares for sale boasted of having the 'fattest bits in town', with another message reading: “On with the crystal white and power, dark bits are massive. Blow your head off, fast service today.”

In April, five Paul Line drug dealers were handed a combined total of 28 years and one month behind bars.

Brett, of Ackers Hall Lane in Liverpool, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and he was jailed for 10-and-a-half years.

The defendant recently appeared back before Liverpool Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, to learn how much of his ill-gotten gains he would have to repay.

Here, a confiscation order was approved by recorder Mark Ainsworth for an amount of £3,715.

Liverpool Crown Court

Brett will have three months to pay this or serve an additional two months in prison by default, while he must also pay a statutory surcharge to fund victim services of £180

An order was also approved for the forfeiture and destruction of drugs seized by police during the investigation.

Sentencing him in April, judge Andrew Menary said: “It was plainly a very successful operation. You were plainly the controlling mind of the Paul Line. You were a principal organiser.

“It was large scale and continued for a significant period of time.

“There must be a significant sentence for these matters, and I hope you realise that if you carry on offending like this the sentences will get ever longer.”

In total, Operations Spartans convicted 44 heroin and crack cocaine dealers operating in Warrington and saw them jailed for a combined 209 years and five months.

DS Simon Draco, Cheshire Police’s lead for serious and organised crime, said of the investigation: “Those sitting at the top of the conspiracies were exploiting vulnerable people and local users from Warrington.

“They used street dealers to carry out their orders, while they kept themselves under the radar by basing themselves in other cities.

“Unbeknown to them, they were also under observation by our officers who worked incredibly hard for a long period of time to build evidence and eradicate these gangs who destroy the community purely for an illegal profit.

“I want to thank the public for coming forward with information that has led us to where we are today, and to encourage people to keep reporting this activity so that together we can make the community even safer for residents and hostile for criminals.”