Image copyright Merseyside

A drug dealer who ran a « massive » operation from his prison cell has been sentenced to a further 12 years in jail.

Christopher Welsh was already serving nearly 17 years for his part in a multi-million pound drugs plot after being jailed in 2013.

The 37-year-old supplied heroin, cocaine and amphetamines to criminals in Scotland from inside HMP Garth.

He was sentenced along with 10 others at Liverpool Crown Court.

Welsh was transferred from Garth to HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire when his mobile phone and SIM cards were confiscated.

Another man, Neil Sutemire, then began a second operation supplying drug dealers in Cumbria, Teesside and North Wales.

Image copyright Merseyside Police

Sutemire, 42 from Bootle, Liverpool was sentenced to a total of 14 years.

John Reid, 31, who ran the Scottish operation, was sentenced to nine years and four months.
‘Complete contempt’

A former nursery nurse, 36 year-old Wendy Abraham from Kirkby, was sentenced to 10 years and six months for working as a courier and allowing her home to be used as a safe house to store drugs.

She also smuggled phones and drugs into prison, the court heard.

The conspiracy was uncovered by officers working for Titan, the regional crime unit.

Judge Denis Watson QC said it was « a depressing truth » that so much crime flows from the evils of drug supply. He described Welsh, originally from Wirral, as a « sophisticated, determined and calculating criminal with complete contempt for the law ».

Det Supt Jason Hudson, head of operations at Titan, said: « The audacity of Christopher Welsh and his associates is astounding but it has ultimately been his downfall and for that he is now paying a very heavy price indeed. »

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-35151232

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