Eleven gangs that made up to £1.1m across eight months of drug dealing were busted in a major undercover police probe.
The rival outfits took over a town’s parks, playgrounds and streets - often peddling misery in front of children. They were brought down by an operation described by a judge as “diligent and clever”.
But several of the gangs were also busted by their own stupidity and arrogance. Pictures and recordings collected by Cheshire Police highlighted how the criminals - many of whom are now behind bars - thought they were untouchable.
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One of the most stunning moves was that of a drug dealing network called the Onion Line. Named after its leader, Huyton man Steve Unwin, one of the gang’s hotspots was Sankey Valley Park. It was there they came to the attention of police - who found Unwin had essentially carved his name and address into a tree.
Referring to the Longview estate he grew up on, the carving read: “Onion of Longy, Huyton.” Unwin, 27 and of Hale View Road in Huyton, was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison for drugs offences.
Tre Freeman, from St Helens, was a key figure in the Jonno and JJ heroin and crack cocaine lines. The 19-year-old was spotted dealing from a stolen BMW X3 that was later cornered by police after a dramatic pursuit through Newton le-Willows.
Freeman was caught by officers after ditching the vehicle - but no charges were brought after it was unclear whether he was driving at the time of the chase. The incident provided crucial intelligence on his exploits though and, this week, he was sentenced to six years in a young offenders institution.
Officers recovered images of two drug dealers from another gang making gun gestures and posing with an axe. Mark Ingle, 45, and Antony Cragg, 32, both of Longshaw Street in Warrington were jailed for their involvement in the Long Haired Luke Line.
Ingle was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison while Cragg was handed three years and seven months. Alex Brady, 21, of Lightoaks Road in Salford, who was given four years and eight months for his involvement in the gang, was seen introducing the video, filmed in a park during the middle of the day, before turning the camera to the pair.
Introducing Ingle and Cragg, Brady says: "Trapping, active, the f***ing mandem. Yes, the fellas."
Brady then tells Ingle to "show em… show them what you’ve got".
In a grey tracksuit, Ingle proceeds to reveal the axe from within his trousers as all three men laugh. At the same time, Cragg makes gun and peace gestures with his hand towards the camera.
All of the gangs were brought down by Cheshire Police’s Operation Spartans. After the latest batch of troublemakers were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court this week, Detective Superintendent Simon Draco said: “This started from information being reported by the local community and went on to become our largest operation as we disrupted eleven organised crime groups.
“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."
