County lines dealers exploited vulnerable man and took over his home

Jack Parkinson, 18, and Luke Derby, 19, were members of an OCG in Merseyside and were arrested at an address in Orford following a call to police from a concerned neighbour.

Parkinson, of Garway, Liverpool, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, September 24 for sentencing, having pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, namely crack cocaine and heroin.

Derby, of Radbrook Close, Halewood, also appeared at Liverpool Crown Court for sentencing last Friday (November 8) having pleaded guilty to the same two counts.

During the hearing, the court was told how on Wednesday, January 10, officers received a call from a concerned member of the public who reported concerns for the safety of a vulnerable man at an address in the Orford area.

Officers attended the address and both Parkinson and Derby were arrested at the property. The vulnerable man was also located safe and well.

A number of mobile phones were seized from the pair, along with a quantity of cash.

A golf ball size package, which was thrown from a rear window, was also recovered from the scene. The package was later found to contain individual wraps of crack cocaine and heroin.

The sentencings were heard at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: NQ) During questioning, both Parkinson and Derby refused to answer any questions put to them by officers, they also refused to reveal the PIN numbers for the mobile phones.

Despite their silence, officers were able to gather a catalogue of evidence that proved the pair were both members of a Merseyside organised crime gang (OCG) who had been dealing drugs in the Warrington area.

The pair had exploited the vulnerable occupant of the address, in order to use his home as a base to deal drugs from – often called Cuckooing.

Parkinson was jailed for 37 months for the offences, meanwhile his co-defendant, Derby, received a suspended sentence of two years suspended for two.

Following the sentencing, police constable Simon Gibson, of Warrington Proactive CID said: “I welcome the sentences handed to Parkinson and Derby, who are both callous criminals who exploited a vulnerable man in order to profit from drug dealing.

“Illegal drugs can have a devastating impact on not only drug users, but the community around them.

“Here in Warrington, we are doing all we can to stop drug activity on our streets to make the town a safer place to live and visit while also making it extremely difficult for these gangs to operate.

“However, this is not an issue that we can tackle alone, and I want to take this opportunity to urge residents to keep spotting the signs of vulnerability. Keep an eye out if they feel something isn’t right and to report it to us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

“We will always act on any information we receive and I would urge anyone who believes this activity is happening near to them, to get in touch.”