Latest news with #heroin
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
I pinched £30m worth of goods as UK's most prolific shoplifter to get my daily hit of heroin – I've been jailed 28 times
A WOMAN who became one of Britain's most prolific shoplifters has revealed how she stole £30 million worth of goods in her 20-year crime spree. Keeley Knowles, 42, stole high value designer clothes and handbags around Birmingham to fund her drug addiction. 3 3 Now, she's lifted the lid on her criminal activities spurred on by her heroin habit. But now that Keeley is 18 months clean, she has turned her life around and is sharing her story to warn others. She said she would target shops every morning and raked in up to £8,000 a day selling on the stolen items via a WhatsApp group in order to feed her heroin addiction. Keeley, of Kings Heath, Birmingham, said: "I was known as Birmingham's most prolific shoplifter for around 20 years. "I was fully involved in the lifestyle. I could easily do seven grams of heroin in a day. When my habit finished I was spending around £1,000 a day. "Instead of going to supermarkets I would go into upmarket stores and take handbags and purses." She pinched £3.7 million worth of stock from one shop alone and is thought to have raked in around £30 million over the years as 'Birmingham's most prolific shoplifter'. Keeley has now revealed how she would fool shop staff by phoning them, pretending to be a police officer to check when security would be on the doors. "People think only gangs are organised crime and that's not right," she said. "I'd get up in the morning and ring around different stores and I would say: 'Good morning, this is PC2417, I'm calling about the theft on Tuesday.' 3 I spent 40k on ketamine and microdosed eight times a day "Because there was always a theft, it's a big store. "And then you would always get some really lovely woman who would answer the phone saying 'there's no security today'. "And I would say, 'Oh well, can you tell me when they are back in?' They would tell me they are not in Monday, Thursday and Friday. And I'd be writing all this down. I knew when people's pay days were, what size their kids were, what people's favourite designer was. Keeley Knowles And she would also fill a sleeping bag-style jacket from the 'ground to her armpit' after slicing up the material to make compartments to conceal the goods. "I wouldn't use a bag for shoplifting. I've had alarms go off and I'd let them look in my handbag and then just walk outside," she explained. "I had a WhatsApp group that had around 150 people in it, I'd take photos on the train or bus after coming out of a shop and before I even got half way home it would be sold. " Money would either go in my bank or I would go and drop it off and collect the money. "I knew when people's pay days were, what size their kids were, what people's favourite designer was." Keeley said she spent every single day shoplifting, apart from on Christmas Day and Good Friday when the shops were closed. "To make a thousand pounds you've got to steal a lot of stuff a day. Some days I'd steal £7,000 to £8,000 worth of stock," Keeley revealed. But thanks to a pioneering new treatment for addicts, Keeley is now 18 months clean having turned her life around and is now sharing her story as a warning to others. Life of Crime Keeley's life of crime began when she was just 13-years-old when she met a 21-year-old man and she was soon hooked on heroin. Speaking to the Birmz Is Grime blog, she added, "I got in trouble a lot when I was younger, firearms and drugs. "I was chosen to travel to Liverpool to pick up kilos of heroin and crack - the equivalent of todays county lines but nobody knew of that back then. I was 13. "My nan and grandad brought me up, my dad was in jail and I didn't see my mum. Because of the generation gap I don't think they knew what was going on,. "I got away with murder, I think my nan thought I had flu for years, when I was suffering withdrawals. But they were there through everything. "I got arrested and went to prison around once a year. "There's a store in Selly Oak, and their security guard once told an officer I had taken £3.7 million worth of stock. "And Loss Prevention magazine have estimated it at around £30 million. "But if you're estimating that from me going into a shop once a day, I promise you its more than that. I didn't live, I just existed. I just got up, scored, went grafting, sold it, scored, slept - and I did it all over again. Keeley Knowles "I'd steal so much I'd have to go get a trolley from Sainsbury's just to move it. "There's no rush to it, it was just what I had to do to feed my addiction. "So many security know me, it's shocking. To the point one stopped me the other week, I haven't been in trouble for so long either, to say happy birthday. "I said 'how do you know its my birthday?' and he said 'Keeley I've had to fill out your date of birth constantly for how many years'. "I didn't live, I just existed. I just got up, scored, went grafting, sold it, scored, slept - and I did it all over again. "I've been to jail 28 times here and three times in Amsterdam. There's only three jails in the country I haven't been to and its the same faces each time. "Women's jail is like St Trinian's on crack - that is the best way you can describe it. 90 per cent are there for addiction. "I thought I would die a junkie." New Beginnings She said her saving grace was West Midlands Police's Offending to Recovery programme, which offers support for addicts. Keeley now works alongside the programme, doing outreach work with drug users and gives talks on the drug Buvidal, a slow-release opioid blocker. She has also won a National Business Crime Solutions Award and since reconnected with her family. She added: "It was the security guard at the £3.7 million shop who said 'you're better than this' and referred me and got me listed for help with the offending to recovery team. "I'd love to say I had a big epiphany but I just found the number in a drawer one day and I thought I'd try them. "They were telling me about this new treatment and I thought it was bulls**t, but I agreed to do it. "I was having seizures, hallucinations, it was horrific, but then I had this injection and I slept like a normal human, had no cravings. "I've now tried to make my recovery something for other people as well. "Seeing somebody who has been even lower than you come out the other end is very different to being told it by somebody who sits in an office and gets paid to do it. "I was unfixable, don't write anyone off. If I can be fixed, anyone can be fixed."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Dealer has £2k debt paid off by gran - now he's been jailed
Debt-ridden Sean Burton sold three drugs to reduce the money he owed his dealer. The 22-year-old was just 16 when he was introduced to drugs and ran up a £13,000 debt. He was pressured to sell heroin, cocaine and cannabis to reduce the debt. But police busted the operation after investigating two drugs lines. Now Burton has been jailed for 31 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. READ MORE: Student entrepreneur running business from bedroom makes £788k made-up VAT claim READ MORE: Shein shopper buys handbag - and can't believe what was inside Police arrested Burton on January 9. They seized his phone and attended his address. They recovered a blue wrap containing 2.3 grams of cocaine; 4.78 grams of heroin; digital scales with traces of heroin, cocaine and caffeine; 9.47 grams of cannabis; an iPhone; and £45. The iPhone was registered to the defendant's then partner. Prosecutor Danny Smith said: "Drug users contacted the phone and asked how much they owed. The user agreed a payment time and date for the debt." The court heard Burton has a previous conviction for conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Burton, of Arbour Street, Hanley, pleaded guilty to two charges of being concerned in the supply of a class A drug and one charge of being concerned in the supply of a class B drug. Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said Burton was 'employed to pay off a debt'. He said: "He clearly did not have an operational or management function in the chain. He had some awareness of the scale of the operation. He was performing a limited role under direction. He was being controlled by others to whom he owed the debt. He has no influence on those above him in the chain. "At 16 he was introduced to drugs by people significantly older than him. He got into debt as a result of his drug use. He was offered the opportunity to get out of debt by supplying drugs. At 16, he saw those older individuals making money. He accepts he stupidly looked up to them and the lifestyle that they were living." Mr Muldoon said Burton has not offended since his arrest and has taken steps to move away from his association with the individuals who were controlling him. His gran paid them £2,000 and they appear to have accepted that as an end to his involvement. Mr Muldoon added: "He is adamant this will be his last time before the court. He wants to obtain gainful full-time employment and he wants to have a family." Mrs Justice Tipples said: "You submitted a basis of plea which said you accepted taking part in the supply of drugs. The reason was due to having a debt. It amounted to £13,000. You were worried for the safety of your family. The people involved were aware of their addresses. You were receiving calls to remind you that you had an outstanding debt that needed to be paid. You say you had no other way to pay the debt back." Get all the latest news from court here
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Boy, 11, among 2,000 kids arrested last year for dealing heroin, cocaine and amphetamine, The Sun can reveal
A BOY of 11 was among almost 2,000 under-17s arrested last year for dealing drugs including heroin, cocaine and amphetamine, The Sun can reveal. Police figures show an average of about 40 children aged 16 or younger were held every week in England and Wales on suspicion of peddling Class A substances. Experts believe many are vulnerable victims of county lines gangs who are coerced into transporting drugs from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries. The 43 forces in England and Wales, plus British Transport Police, released figures after a Freedom of Information request. They showed that 1,914 under-17s were nabbed for either selling drugs — or having such huge quantities they were suspected of being dealers. The 11-year-old was held in Wiltshire. The forces for Merseyside, Northamptonshire and Hampshire did not provide figures so the true total would be higher. London saw most arrests, with 219 — including seven 13-year-old boys. Greater Manchester had 128, two involving boys of 12. One was trying to deal in Class A drugs and the other attempted to supply cannabis. The same force nicked a boy of 13 for trying to sell heroin. West Midlands Police arrested 114 under-17s, including two girls of 16 over Class A drugs. Leicestershire saw 108 arrests, with children pulled in for allegedly dealing in LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, cannabis and heroin. Sussex cops made 102 arrests, two of boys aged 13 on suspicion of dealing in crack and heroin. Anastasia de Waal, of the Civitas think-tank, said: 'We're continuing to see the exploitation of very vulnerable children here. Such exploitation blights not only these youngsters' childhoods but also their futures. Not enough is being done to prevent it.' Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo's, added: 'Children who are exploited are often forced to commit crimes by being coerced, threatened and made to feel like there's no way out.' Ministers want to bring in a law so drug kingpins who force kids into county lines gangs can be jailed for up to ten years. 1
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Birmingham judge expresses sadness at jailing drug dealer caught just two days after setting up
A judge expressed sadness at having to jail a drug dealer who was caught just two days after starting out in his illegal enterprise. Imraj Randhawa was still setting up his client list when police spotted him supplying multiple known drug users in Bedworth, Warwickshire, within a few minutes of each other. They stopped him and ultimately found around £200 worth of cocaine and heroin in his Ford Kuga car and back at his home. READ MORE: First picture of asylum seeker who raped girl, 12, above shop after saying streets weren't safe Officers also seized various weapons, including a machete and claw hammer, as well as mobile phones. Randhawa claimed he only got into dealing after losing his job, trying to pay off his brother's debt and then becoming addicted to drink and cocaine himself. The 34-year-old from Tresillian Road, Coventry was jailed for two and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, July 23, dashing his faint hopes of a suspended sentence which has a two-year threshold. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply. Recorder William Webb KC said: "You made a bad choice. I think you know you made a bad choice and I am sure you would not make it again." He added: "This is a sad case. I have reduced the sentence at each stage as much as I can legitimately. "It does not go to a level where I'm permitted to consider a suspended sentence. "That's the nature of class A drug dealing I am afraid." Prosecutor Jas Dhaliwal told the court that shortly after 1.15pm on October 15 last year police arrested Randhawa in Saunders Avenue, Bedworth after observing him drive around in a Ford Kuga and interract with three known drugs users. They found various wraps in his car as well as two mobile phones, a claw hammer and £45 in cash. Officers seized further drugs and paraphernalia from a shoe box at his home and a list of contacts from his wardrobe. One of the phones, a Nokia, was examined. Mr Dhaliwal said: "There were 19 messages between October 13 and October 15. "The defendant was sending out marketing advertising messages to customers stating he's active. "He received direct messages from users to him asking to buy drugs for cash or on tick. He was arranging meetings." He added that a drugs expert witness concluded Randhawa had only set up the business two days before being caught. "He was still attempting to build up a client base given the list of mobile phone contacts," said Mr Dhaliwal. Jeevan Mann, defending, told the court Randhawa had a positive side to his character including teaching boxing to children. He said: "This defendant was employed but his employment was terminated. "He has a brother who had accumulated an extensive drug debt. "This defendant then bore the responsibility of paying off the debt. "As a consequence, he did start suffering mental health issues. "He became depressed and anxious about paying the debt. Eventually he was offered the opportunity to earn money by way of supplying drugs. "A decision he regrets. Looking back in hindsight he was naive to be getting involved in selling drugs." Mr Mann stated Randhawa was given a phone, a list of contacts and was told what to do. "At the same time, simultaneously, he began developong a dependence on alcohol and cocaine," he added.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Man rolls Mercedes in 80mph chase then lands in bigger trouble
A serial dealer of Class A drugs led police on an 80mph chase through "very built-up" areas before crashing and abandoning his Mercedes. When police caught up to Lee Thomas on foot they found he was carrying dozens of wraps of crack cocaine and heroin. Cardiff Crown Court heard the 32-year-old, from Bettws in Newport, has an "unenviable" record which includes being sentenced four times for dealing drugs. On Friday he appeared in the dock to face justice for crimes from 2022 and from May this year. The 2022 offences involved drug-dealing in the Neath and Swansea areas. His role in the operation was discovered after police detained an associate, Christian Richardson, and found in his pocket 56 cling-film packages of heroin and crack which were then linked to Thomas by DNA. READ MORE: Shoppers hit as city centre car park shuts suddenly READ MORE: The Welsh market town that 'used to be brilliant' but traders say has been ruined by the perfect storm At around 10.15am on May 22 this year, Thomas — on bail for the drug-dealing — was driving along Malpas Road, Newport, in a Mercedes-Benz CLA with cloned number plates. After cameras detected the dodgy plates, a roads policing officer attempted to pull him over but Thomas sped away. "Road conditions were not suitable for high-speed travel due to the poor road surface," said prosecutor Nuhu Gobir. The officer followed for a number of minutes, eventually losing sight of Thomas, but soon came across the Mercedes crashed on its side in Pentre Lane, near Cwmbran. After a foot pursuit, Thomas was detained and caught with 20 wraps of crack and "numerous" wraps of heroin in his pocket, as well as £465 in cash, Mr Gobir told the court. Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Thomas: "You drove well in excess of the speed limit, up to 80mph, in very built-up areas where traffic was moderate to say the very least." Thomas pleaded guilty to possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of Class As, dangerous driving and driving while disqualified. The defendant, of Tees Close in Bettws, had some 32 previous offences on his record including dealing heroin, crack and cannabis, and flouting a driving ban. His barrister Ross McQuillan-Johnson argued the 2022 offences should have been progressed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) much earlier. "The CPS had sufficient evidence to charge him in 2022 but it took two years to charge him by postal requisition," said Mr McQuillan-Johnson. "He has an unenviable record but he tells me in no uncertain terms that the offending can be directly linked to his heavy reliance on substances. He doesn't seek to rely on that as an excuse. He is working closely with Dyfodol [substance misuse specialists] to deal with his drug and alcohol dependency." Judge Jenkins said the two-year delay between arrest and postal requisition was "lamentable, unconscionable and inexplicable", adding: "I question what more the CPS could have had, in terms of evidence." The judge took this into account in passing a prison sentence of nine years and two months, and a driving ban of seven years and seven months. As a security guard led him to the cells Thomas aimed a look at family members who sat in the public gallery, shaking his head with a disbelieving smile.
