Class A drugs dealer from Runcorn jailed for six years

A drug dealer from Runcorn has been jailed after nearly £1,500 worth of heroin and crack cocaine was seized as a result of two separate stop and searches conducted by plain-clothed officers.

Denise Ryan, of Chester Close, Castlefields, pleaded guilty to four counts of possession with intent to supply the class A drugs.

The 49-year-old also admitted several charges of possession of controlled drugs.

Ranging from class A to class C, the drugs were morphine, cannabis resin, tramadol, clonazepam, pregabalin, alprazolam and gabapentin.

Ryan was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Friday 4 September.

She was jailed for six years.

Ryan was first stopped and searched on Friday 10 May 2019.

The search was conducted after Ryan had acted suspiciously and admitted that she had ‘a few wraps’ on her when plain-clothes officers revealed that they work for the police when talking to her near her home.

She was in fact in possession of 18 wraps of crack cocaine and 13 wraps of heroin.

A subsequent search of her home revealed a further 56 wraps of heroin and 62 wraps of crack cocaine.

The property also contained quantities of cannabis resin and a range of prescription drugs that had not been prescribed to Ryan.

Officers seized all the drugs, as well as drugs paraphernalia, more than £1,100 in cash and a mobile phone featuring messages regarding Ryan’s drug dealing activities.

Ryan was arrested, and after refusing to answer any questions in custody she was released under investigation as a range of work was undertaken to secure drug dealing charges against her.

One of the plain-clothed officers involved in the first stop and search spotted a woman leaving Ryan’s home and getting in the back of a taxi on Wednesday 4 December 2019.

The officer found her to be in possession of six wraps of heroin.

With grounds to suspect that drug dealing had been taking place at Ryan’s home, officers again searched the property.

On that occasion 39 wraps of crack cocaine and 17 wraps of heroin were seized from the address, as was more than £1,000 in cash.

Ryan again refused to answer any questions after being arrested.

However, she was charged with multiple offences, and with all the evidence that officers gathered against her – including traces of her DNA on the packaging of class A drugs that were seized from Ryan and her home – she admitted to being a drug dealer when the case progressed to a crown court.

Ryan claimed she was initially dealing drugs to fund her own addiction, and that on the second occasion she was caught she was trying to pay off a debt to her supplier regarding the first lot of heroin and crack cocaine that the police had seized.

Following her sentencing, Police Constable Phil Thomason, who led the investigation on behalf of Runcorn Local Policing Unit (LPU), said: “This case emphasises the importance of the police’s power to stop and search people they suspect to be responsible for crime.

“As a result of our ability to search Denise Ryan and latterly the woman who left her address with wraps of heroin, a class A drug dealer and a substantial amount of heroin and crack cocaine have been removed from our streets.

“The estimated street value of those class A drugs that we seized from Ryan and her home is £1,470.

“The total street value of all the drugs we seized was around £2,120.

“I am pleased that she is now behind bars facing the consequences of her actions, and I hope that this case deters others from dealing drugs.”

David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, added: “Stop and search powers are crucial to the essential role that frontline officers play in the detection and prevention of serious and organised crime.

“I know that officers work tirelessly in their fight against drug dealers who blight communities in Cheshire with their illegal drugs, and I am delighted that they have secured another good result in this regard.

“I would like to thank all the officers involved in this case for their sterling work in securing this conviction.”

Chief Inspector Sarah Heath, of Runcorn LPU, said: “Illegal drugs blight communities across the UK and cause untold damage to the lives of both those who use the drugs and become dependent on them and the wider community who suffer from the resulting crime.

“Drug dealing in Runcorn or elsewhere in Cheshire will not be tolerated, and I hope this case deters others from getting involved in the supply of illegal drugs.

“While this investigation has now concluded, our fight against illegal drugs, and those who supply them, continues and I urge anyone with any information about suspected drug related activity in their community to get in touch. You will be listened to and we will investigate the matter.”

You can report suspected drug dealing to Cheshire Constabulary directly by calling 101 or giving the details online via https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report.

Alternatively, information can also be given anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.