A dealing dad imported a party drug into the UK from China over the internet.
Three-time convicted dealer Simon Rogers, from Formby, was this week jailed for four-and-a-half years after "reverting to type". His latest conviction saw him hide nearly £30,000 of heroin and cannabis in his own children's backpacks in a desperate attempt to avoid being caught red-handed by police.
The ECHO can now reveal how the 40-year-old previously ran an intricate drug importation business from his prison cell with the help of his "besotted" NHS worker girlfriend. Hayley Hughes, a university graduate who worked as an occupational therapist at Broadgreen Hospital, took instructions from inmate Rogers on how to import the illegal designer drug M-Cat from China and India.
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This involved emailing suppliers and paying for packages of the highly addictive class B drug, methylethylcathinone, through Western Union money transfers. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of the illicit substances were then delivered to various addresses including his home, his bar - La Luna on Stanley Street in Liverpool city centre - and the home of his cousin Abbie Mitchell and her partner David Howard on Sonning Avenue in Litherland.
The goods - also known as 4-MEC - were then passed on to another supplier for distribution. Liverpool Crown Court heard in 2015 that, over a 12-month period, Rogers had overseen the importation of up to 120kg of the drug into the country. This netted him an estimated profit of £150,000.
The then 32-year-old was sent back to jail at the time for breaching licence conditions following his release from a five-year term for possession of cocaine with intent to supply and possession of ammunition handed down in 2010. Rogers, Mitchell and Howard admitted conspiracy to import a class B drug and conspiracy to supply a class B drug while Hughes, then aged 27, was found guilty of the same charges after a trial.
Sentencing, Judge Steven Everett called Rogers a "selfish, arrogant individual" who had manipulated his co-defendants into becoming involved in his criminal enterprise as he was locked up for six years. He had started a relationship with Hughes, who bore him a child, even though he was already married to another woman.
The judge told a sobbing Hughes as he jailed her for two years: “You had all the advantages in life - a university degree, an excellent, responsible, well-paid job in the community and very caring parents. I find it hard to understand how somebody with all those advantages in life, both personal and in background, thought it was exciting to be involved with somebody in the criminal sphere like Rogers.”
The same court heard on Wednesday that the father-of-three was driving a stolen Audi Q2 on the M57 northbound near Magull when he was boxed in by police at around 4pm on July 15 this year. But he was allowed to explain the situation to his children before they were transported to the homes of other family members.
Rogers was also given the chance to gather their belongings in the car in holdalls before being taken into custody. Police subsequently attempted to carry out a search of his Alt Road home, but the house key was not on a set that had been seized.
Officers then returned to search the bags that the boys had been left with, hoping to find the key. Instead, they found a block of heroin and two of cannabis resin plus a "huge amount of cash" totalling £15,000 with his nine-year-old son - who had been dropped at his grandma's in Kirkby.
The other youngster had been taken to his mum's house in Speke. There, a search of his belongings revealed paperwork in his dad's name and another block of cannabis resin stashed underneath a bundle of clothing.
The authorities did not find the outstanding key, but were ultimately let into the address at roughly 8pm by Rogers' partner. More monies were discovered in the kitchen, with £1,000 in a handbag and £21,800 in a cupboard.
A search of the car then revealed a further block of cannabis resin. The 369g of heroin was found to be of 49% purity with a street value of up to £22,000, while the cannabis was worth an estimated £5,200.
Meanwhile, the cash located by police amounted to £38,382. When interviewed after his arrest, Rogers said that he did not know the Audi was stolen and said he had bought it for £5,000 through a friend - who arranged the sale in the Carlisle area.
He also incorrectly believed that his previous insurance policy remained valid on the vehicle. Meanwhile, the father-of-three claimed that he had lent the car to a friend while he was away in Turkey.
Rogers stated that he discovered the drugs inside upon his return the previous day. While the unnamed acquaintance had "promised to sort it out", he needed to collect his children and "panicked" when stopped and "took the opportunity" to hide the heroin and cannabis.
Of the cash, he said that this had been the proceeds of a sale through his caravan business Camper Kings. Peter Hussey, prosecuting, said: "It is the crown's case that this defendant trades in a significant quantity of class A and B drugs for profit."
Gary Lawrenson, defending, told the court that his client had secured a job tending to birds of prey while in jail as well as working for the prison radio station - including recently conducting an interview with visiting magistrates. He added: "He reverted to type and lost sight of the most important things in his life.
"He is devastated, as he is going to be parted from his young family for a significant period of time. His own words are, he feels shame and embarrassment - he is deeply sorry to the court and his family.
"This is a man who is now 40 years of age, a turning point in his life. His intention is to use this time fruitfully and turn his back on crime and his front to his family."
Rogers admitted possession of heroin and cannabis with intent to supply, handling stolen goods, possession of criminal property and driving without insurance in connection with his latest misdemeanors. Recorder Kendrick Horne said that he was "supplying to users on an unusually high scale", adding in his sentencing remarks: "You involved your nine-year-old son in an attempt to hide the drugs and cash from the police - exposing your son to the risk of seeing, possibly touching or possibly discovering in some other ways the drugs as well as the cash."
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