Liverpool Crown Court Sentencing Results

During police raid on December 27 2024 at family home in Liverpool, Mason was seen leaning out of a rear first storey window and throwing a bag containing 102g of cannabis and £1,000 cash into neighbour's garden. Further drugs, cash and snap bags found inside.

Warren Roberts, 29, of New Ferry, Merseyside, was caught dealing drugs. On August 6, 2025, police found cash, a Nokia phone with drug supply messages, scales with white powder, a bag of white powder wraps (14 packages of cocaine weighing 2.6g valued at £280), and £1,094.95 at his address. Released under investigation. On January 29, 2026, in Birkenhead, he was seen in a suspected drug deal outside a pub, ran, and concealed 50 packages of cocaine (8.76g valued at £1,000) inside a ping pong ball hidden in his faeces.

Carole Low, aged 65, of Birkenhead, illegally lent money without authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority to at least 50 people, providing at least 5,000 advances worth £240,000 and receiving £363,000 in payments, charging 50-100% interest and penalty charges. She lent money to vulnerable drug users to buy drugs from her son, chased debts, and on occasions passed illegal drugs to others. The illegal lending ran from 2018 to 2025, with the drugs conspiracy lasting four months. Arrested in March 2025 following a warrant at her home.

Carole Lowe, aged 65, of Birkenhead, operated as an illegal money lender from November 2018 to March 2025, making 5,000 advances totalling £240,000 to at least 50 individuals at interest rates of 50-100% plus penalties, netting over £100,000 profit. She was involved in her son Seng's 'Seng Line' heroin and crack cocaine supply from November 2024, packaging drugs, supplying customers, tracking finances and tick lists, and chasing debts in her BMW. Seven bags of cocaine, tick list and scales found at her home.

Seng Low, aged 43, of Birkenhead, operated and controlled the 'Seng Line' supplying controlled drugs across Wirkenhead and Wirral. He introduced vulnerable drug users to his mother for loans to buy drugs and directed them to her when they could not pay. Arrested in March 2025 at his address in possession of the drug line phone. The conspiracy lasted four months.

Seng Lowe, aged 43, of Birkenhead, operated and controlled a drug supply chain known as the 'Seng Line' in the Wirral area from November 2024 to March 2025, sending bulk messages offering heroin and crack cocaine for sale. He was arrested on March 12, 2025, in possession of a graft phone at the Dental Lab on Prenton Road West. He introduced drug customers to his mother for loans and chased debts.

Dylan O'Neill, aged 24, of Kensington, operated as a drug dealer under the alias 'Scouse Trigger', supplying class A drugs including cocaine in the Runcorn area. He used two graft phones, one registered to his girlfriend, to advertise bulk sales via flare messages, offering free bags of cocaine to the first three buyers of the day. The phones showed significant daily usage, peaking at 280 communications on Valentine's Day, consistent with high-level supply. He was identified as the controller after contacting family members on the phones, which co-located with his girlfriend's vehicle in Merseyside and Cheshire. On March 20, 2026, police stopped their car on the M53 northbound between junctions six and five, arresting the couple. The Nokia handset was found around O'Neill's neck on a lanyard, along with £600 in cash. The operation involved contacting over 100 contacts on certain days.

Francis Lowe, aged 25 from Breckside Park in Anfield, used EncroChat handles 'Tired Swarmer' and 'Big Carp' to traffic multiple kilograms of cocaine (6kg) and cannabis (22.5kg) in 2020, acting as a broker, owning product, and operating a graft line. He directed collections, such as 2kg of cocaine from Birmingham, and handled a stolen Mercedes AMG purchased for £2,000 for resale. Communications also discussed sourcing firearms, though not charged. Police search on March 4, 2026, found £9,000 cash (some counterfeit), cannabis, tick lists, and snap bags at his home. His involvement stemmed from trauma after being wrongly accused and acquitted of the 2013 murder of the victim at age 14.

Jack Blackham, 31, from New Road, Tuebrook, ran a social media drug ring advertising cocaine, cannabis, and nitrous oxide specifically targeting children. He exploited young people to sell drugs and held power over vulnerable youths. He was arrested on 25 November 2024 during a routine police stop on Sefton Street, Toxteth, when officers found 30 large canisters of nitrous oxide in the footwell and boot of his silver Ford Kuga.

Liam Rice, aged 35 from Mount Crescent in Kirkby, participated in a fraudulent ticket resale operation targeting Liverpool FC and other Premier League clubs. As part of the syndicate led by Joseph Johnson, Rice helped manage logistics for obtaining and reselling thousands of tickets at inflated prices, using fake memberships to access discounted local supporter tickets. The group set up Seatfinder UK in 2018, operating from an office in Kirkby with computers for harvesting tickets, and expanded to international sales, including matches against Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli. Profits reached hundreds of thousands, with one message noting £305,457.81 from the season. The scheme abused internal systems and was exposed in 2018, leading to arrests in 2019.

Louis James, aged 37 from Lapford Crescent in Kirkby, a long-term Liverpool FC employee since 2002 and in the ticket office from 2016, abused his position to facilitate a ticket fraud scheme. He processed 40-50 discounted £9 local general sale tickets per home game using fake details and memberships, handing them over to Joseph Johnson for resale at inflated prices on secondary markets. Messages from his phone revealed daily coordination with the syndicate from 2016, discussing profits like £15,000 from 22 memberships. The operation expanded beyond Liverpool to other clubs, with James playing a key role in ticket acquisition. He was dismissed in 2018 after being observed exchanging envelopes with Johnson, leading to seizure of his phone with 250,000 messages exposing the fraud, and arrests in 2019.

The defendant assisted a large-scale ticket fraud by allowing his bank details to be used to purchase Liverpool Football Club tickets for resale at inflated prices on unauthorised secondary websites. The wider scheme is estimated to have made around £3.5 million between 2015 and 2020.

James Johnson, aged 34 from Westcombe Road in Anfield, a former Liverpool FC tour guide reassigned to the ticket office in 2014 until 2017, aided a ticket fraud conspiracy by processing discounted local tickets using the same credit card and fake details. He collaborated with Louis James and Joseph Johnson (no relation), helping create memberships and acquire tickets for resale at inflated prices, contributing to profits of hundreds of thousands. After leaving the club, he worked briefly for the syndicate's Seatfinder UK. The scheme involved over 1,000 fake LFC memberships and expanded to other Premier League clubs. Internal audits in 2018 revealed his involvement, leading to observations of him with Joseph Johnson and eventual arrests in 2019.

Joseph Johnson, aged 37 from Chelford Road in Eccleston, St Helens, orchestrated a sophisticated ticket fraud scheme involving collusion with Liverpool FC ticket office staff. Over several years, more than 1,000 fake LFC memberships were created using false names and details to obtain discounted £9 tickets intended for local fans. These tickets were resold at significantly inflated prices on secondary websites like Viagogo, StubHub, and Ticketbis, generating hundreds of thousands of pounds in profit. The operation expanded internationally, including to other Premier League clubs, and involved setting up Seatfinder UK, registered in Dubai, with an office in Kirkby. The scheme was uncovered in 2018 through internal audits and led to arrests in 2019. Johnson boasted about his role in WhatsApp messages, referring to himself as 'Billy big balls'.

Colin Anditon was caught dealing drugs on two occasions in 2024. On January 16, 2024, in Birkenhead, he was observed engaging in a drug deal in an alleyway off Corporation Road with a female taxi passenger, selling crack cocaine and heroin. He was detained with £46 cash, and his associate Leanne Taylor had 51 wraps of heroin and five wraps of crack cocaine concealed in her underwear. The taxi passenger possessed two wraps of crack cocaine and one wrap of heroin. On May 2, 2024, he was arrested in Oxton after entering and leaving a property; a search found 20 wraps of heroin and nine wraps of crack cocaine in a coat belonging to him. The offences involved county lines drug dealing.

Francis Ventre, 63, masterminded a £479,500 cocaine and ketamine trafficking ring operating under the alias 'Dillforest' on an EncroChat device between April and June 2020. He advertised drugs, handled deliveries, and coordinated couriers across Merseyside. The operation involved 1kg of cocaine worth £38,500 and 63kg of ketamine valued at £441,000. He was identified through personal clues in encrypted messages, including his birthday, postcode, and the word 'barrow' from his former club Barrow A.F.C. used in his password. Arrested at his West Derby home on 25 November 2025.