A drugs gang courier "decided it was time to come home and face the consequences" after seven years on the run in Amsterdam.
Liam Mills transported tens of thousands of pounds worth of illicit class A substances across the country and collected more than £100,000 in takings. But he fled the country after police brought down the organised crime group of which he was a part.
Mills went on to become a father and "lived an honest life" in the Netherlands. But, the best part of a decade later, the now 31-year-old has finally been brought to justice.
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Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday that Mills, of Herm Road in Vauxhall, was part of a Merseyside-based organised crime group which shipped drugs to the north east back in 2015. He couriered 2kg of class A drugs to Newcastle from a gang "safehouse" at an apartment on Waterside, Princes Dock, on July 10 2015.
The "trusted courier" collected £133,000 during another trip north on July 22, then took delivery of a smaller amount of cash on July 28. Mills had also been entrusted with the keys to the OCG's waterfront flat.
Martin Reid, prosecuting, described how he was found in possession of a stun gun disguised to look like mobile phone upon his arrest later that year. The defendant was released on bail to appear before magistrates in early 2016 after being charged with drug trafficking offences.
But he instead booked a one-way train ticket from London St Pancras to Brussels before starting a new life in the Holland. A European arrest warrant was issued in 2018, and Mills was ultimately arrested in Amsterdam and extradited back to UK on November 16 last year.
The dad, who worked as an electrician before his brush with the law, has no previous convictions. Paul Kilty, defending, told the court yesterday: "He made a stupid series of decisions, embroiling himself in something that was already ongoing.
"He was working and staying out of trouble in Holland, he had a partner and they have a son together. He made the decision that it was time to come have and face the consequences, and thereafter move on with life and be the person he is now rather than the younger man involved in serious criminality."
Mills admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, possession of a prohibited weapon and breaching bail. He was jailed for seven years and seven months.
Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey KC said: "Having left the UK, there is no suggestion that whilst you were in Holland for a number of years you were doing anything - albeit as a fugitive - but leading an honest life. Justice has now caught up with you, and therefore this court is obliged to sentence you for your involvement in this conspiracy.
"This was a long-standing conspiracy. It appears to have been a sophisticated, well-organised conspiracy.
"I am satisfied that you were a trusted courier. Once you have served the inevitable custodial sentence you can lead and have the potential to lead a law-abiding life."
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