An East Lancashire drugs gang which raked in over £70,000 selling heroin, crack, and a variety of recreational drugs promised people they'd "make your dreams come true" as they flooded homes with illegal drugs.
Umar Hamid headed up the massive operation from his cell at HMP Liverpool, running the CCPP (cannabis, coke, powder and pills) line with an illegal mobile phone before he was released in September 2019, after which he set up the Felix line from the outside. Members had access to a BB gun and a potentially-deadly homemade explosive
According to Lancs Live, the gang sent hundreds of text messages to drug users in Hyndburn, Rossendale, and Blackburn on an almost daily basis between 2018 and 2020, offering users class A and B drugs to "make your dreams come true". Hamid exploited a vulnerable drug user, making them test the drugs before they were put up for sale, and the gang threatened an innocent man with an imitation gun when their cannabis farm was raided, smashing up his work van.
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Joshua Haslam, a 17-year-old neighbour of Hamid, was recruited by the gang after he turned to drugs due to difficulties at home, living a chaotic lifestyle. He was trusted by Hamid to keep the operation running whilst Hamid served time, being promised cash for his hard work.
When Haslam told Hamid's wife Khadija he was skint she promised: "He’s home soon. You won’t be skint anymore.” Just days later Hamid was released from prison, setting up the Felix line to sell heroin and crack cocaine.
Charles Robertshaw, a former construction worker who had turned to drugs after he was seriously injured in a motorbike accident in 2016, also helped the gang run the lines. Robertshaw started taking drugs after undergoing surgery to fit a "full metal spine" to cope with the pain and mental health difficulties he was suffering.
After being signed off work in October 2019 with a shoulder injury, Robertshaw became deeply embroiled in the conspiracy, using the CCPP line to sell drugs and staying in frequent contact with Hamid and his wife. Shockingly, Robertshaw had built a homemade explosive, which police found when they raided his home, with shocking videos showing him bragging about his "banger" which would "go off like a 12-guage".
Catching the gang
A number of arrests were made across the 16-month conspiracy. One of the most key developments came in June 2019, when officers stopped a car being driven by Pascoe Gilheaney, with Robertshaw in the passenger seat. The car smelled of cannabis, and police found cocaine and a dealer’s tick list in Robertshaw’s man bag.
The following month, Haslam was arrested and found to be in possession of large quantities of drugs and mobile phones. He was carrying 46 ecstasy tablets, 20 bags of cannabis, a wrap of ketamine and 17 wraps of cocaine. Images recovered from his phone showed Haslam and Robertshaw together in possession of drugs and weapons.
During the course of his arrest, Haslam’s phone did not stop ringing. When police went to search his home, they found the locks had been picked and someone had been inside - although they did discover snap bags and a bag of digital scales. Haslam was released under investigation but in January 2020 he was arrested again - this time in possession of heroin and cocaine, however the conspiracy continued.
It wasn't until November 2019 when police were able to search Hamid and Robertshaw’s homes, finding a drugs phone in the pocket of Hamid's dressing gown. A SIM card for the Felix line was recovered from the handset. They also found evidence of dealing at Robertshaw’s home - along with the explosive.
During the course of the investigation, police discovered a video on Haslam’s phone which linked him to a cannabis grow. Other images showed bundles of cash, with the slogan ‘work hard, play harder’. They found thousands of text messages offering drugs for sale and making arrangements for ‘drops’. Nicknames were linked to the defendants and drugs phones were regularly found to be travelling in tandem with the defendants’ own mobile phones.
Explosives
On November 6 2019, police executed a search warrant at Robertshaw’s home. They discovered engineering tools and a metal tube containing components from a firework. They also found a diary containing chemical formulas and videos showing Robertshaw decanting powder into the tube.
In one video, Robertshaw was seen building an improvised explosive device, saying: “That’s double what’s in a 12 gauge. It’ll blow more than the car up.” In another, shot in an Audi vehicle, the driver lit a fuse and threw the device out of the window - before a loud bang went off..
Explosives expert Daniel Crutchley examined the items seized from Robertshaw’s home. He concluded the cylinder was a “small and not very sophisticated IED which could propel shrapnel and cause injury.” The formulas in the diary were for gunpowder, he said.
Robertshaw’s defence barrister, Seaman Sidhu, said the defendant had a ‘keen interest’ in science and explosives. He did not intend to endanger life, but accepted the device would cause damage to property. He joined the conspiracy with the expectation of significant financial gain and was involved for ‘a matter of weeks’ - but was arrested before any money reached his pocket.
Threats
In June 2019, cannabis was stolen from a farm linked to the conspiracy. Pascoe Gilheaney and Jake Harper made repeat attempts to contact a family who they believed to be behind the raid. On June 6, 2019, a man’s car was parked outside a garden centre.
A white van was circling the area. As the van passed the car a hand reached out of the window and pointed an imitation gun at the driver. The man later discovered damage to his van. Jake Harper and Pascoe Gilheany were charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
At an earlier hearing in February 2020, Gilheaney was jailed for 28 months in a young offenders institute after being caught in a flat in Ulverston, Cumbria. Officers found heroin, cannabis and drug dealing phones during the raid in June 2019 and Gilheany pleaded guilty to conspiracy with intent to supply.
The teenager claimed he was in debt to a drugs gang in East Lancs and had travelled to the county to discharge the debt. By the time the criminal damage conspiracy came to court Gilheaney had served the sentence for drugs offences. His defence barrister, Oliver Jarvis, said he had used his time in custody to rid himself of his addiction and was ready to live a productive life.
Judge Simon Medland QC said: “You were very young at the time and you have the other matters which you were sentenced for. There are issues of totality which do not apply to the others.
“I make you no promises - you must expect an immediate sentence of custody. There is one option that is an alternative to that, but that is up to you. You stay out of trouble, keep the right side of the law, do something productive with your life and not behave like a yob with a BB gun in your hand.”
He said if Gilheaney can abide by a curfew and keep out of trouble until July 15 he may consider a non-custodial sentence. However Jake Harper, who did not attend court to be sentenced, was handed an 18 month sentence in his absence.
Sentences
Umar Hamid, 31, previously of Hazel Avenue, Darwen, sentenced to 10 years and 10 months for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs. Hamid is already serving a 22 year sentence for rape afer being convicted in February 2021.
Haslam, of Somerset Walk, Helmshore, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs. Robertshaw, was handed a six year and seven month jail sentence for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs, relating to the CCPP line.
Jake Harper,was sentenced to 18 months for conspiracy to commit criminal damage. Pascoe Gilheaney’s sentence was deferred until July.
What the judge said
Judge Simon Medland QC said: Anybody who needs to consider how catastrophic drugs are in people’s lives need look no further than this case and Joshua Haslam and Charles Robertshaw.
“Class A drugs destroy people’s lives, they corrode society, break up families and destroy people’s health, mental welfare and ability to work. It ends up all too often with people facing very long sentences in custody,.
“This is a catastrophe in the lives of a young person and a person of previous good character who could have had a bright future. But because of the terrible effects these drugs have and also because of the way in which they are acted out to promote the actions of serious organised criminals, and determined criminals such as Umar Hamid, the courts have to take a very serious view of them.
“Hamid was the boss of bosses within the context of these offences. He has an absolutely terrible record for very, very serious crimes and is already serving a very, very long prison sentence for other matters.
“Joshua Hampson, you a still a very young man. It is a terrible shame to see young men in the mess you have got yourself into from time to time, and it is because of your involvement in drugs. You have to learn the hard way that if you deal in drugs on a commercial basis, your sentence will be a long one.”
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