Court was told how Harpurhey boss would take £450 taxi trips to sell drugs in Scotland

Two Mancunian county lines drug dealers who flooded the streets of Scotland with heroin and cocaine have been jailed.
Llewellyn Campbell and Macauley Peacock, both 25, were part of a gang that brought class A drugs from Manchester to the ‘lucrative’ drugs market in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, taking advantage of vulnerable addicts by ‘cuckooing’.
Manchester Crown Court heard that such were the profits on offer, Campbell and Peacock once took a taxi from Scotland to Manchester, then back again in a journey costing them £450.
When Campbell realised it had become ‘too hot’ after the police were onto him, gang boss Campbell tried to sell his drugs line, promising any buyer they could make £6,000 a week from it.
The court also heard how the area was the subject of a ‘turf war’ between the Manchester gang and a rival Liverpool crime outfit, who stormed one of the safehouses the gang had been using.
Manchester Crown Court
“Where are the Mancs?” asked one attacker, as they savagely beat two addicts using weapons including a sword and a ‘jungle machete’ at a cuckooed property in Kilmarnock.
A judge said there was some evidence of Campbell enjoying the profits of his, including ‘living it up’ during a holiday to the Canary Islands.
Now Campbell, from Harpurhey, has been jailed for eight years, and his right-hand-man Peacock for two years.
Prosecuting, Henry Blackshaw told how Campbell and Peacock would transport drugs from Manchester in trips to Kilmarnock, which is about 25 miles from Glasgow.
Up to two or three kilos of drugs may have been trafficked to Scotland during the 18 month conspiracy, the prosecution estimated.
In a process known as ‘cuckooing’, the gang took over the home of a vulnerable addict and used it to store and prepare drugs, ready to be sold on the streets.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
A homeless addict from Manchester, James Savage, 30, was installed at one such property in Kilmarnock, where another vulnerable addict lived.
He would often stay there for up to 10 days, while Campbell and Peacock would book hotel rooms in Glasgow.
Police made several seizures of drugs from 2015 to 2017.
In December 2015, officers found Campbell in the process of ‘cooking’ at a house in Kilmarnock, turning powder cocaine into crack cocaine.
They found nearly £10,000 worth of heroin and cocaine.
Then in May 2016, Peacock was stopped in Kilmarnock while driving a VW Golf which contained crack cocaine and heroin.
With drugs also found in his hotel room in Glasgow city centre, police recovered £8,930 worth of the drugs and £2,000 in cash.
Macauley Peacock (Image: GMP)
He was released on bail and went on to take a taxi from Scotland to Manchester and back with Campbell, which cost them £450.
Judge Richard Mansell QC said this evidence ‘shines a light on the profitability’ of the operation.
Campbell and Peacock were arrested at the Ibis hotel in Glasgow city centre on February 23, 2017.
Peacock, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody and has remained in prison since.
He served a separate 28 month sentence in relation to when he was stopped by police in May 2016, following a court hearing in Kilmarnock.
He is currently serving a 14 year jail term for separate offences.
Campbell tried to run from officers, but he was caught and released on bail, recruiting others to replace Peacock.
In March 2017, Savage and another addict were both asleep at a house in Kilmarnock, when at about 11pm a female addict who they knew from previous occasions knocked on the door.
Greater Manchester court cases
We have a dedicated Facebook group covering court cases across Greater Manchester.
For all the latest trial coverage and sentencing join the group here.
To download our app to get all the latest news visit here.
They answered the door but quickly found out she had been used as a decoy to get them to open the door.
About eight men wearing balaclavas who spoke with ‘Liverpudlian accents’ stormed the property, some armed with scaffold poles, a ‘jungle machete’ and a sword.
“Where are the Mancs?”, one attacker demanded as the two addicts suffered broken legs and deep cuts.
The Scottish addict who lived with Savage later told police there was a ‘turf war between Mancs and Scousers’.
Then in March 2017, Campbell was stopped by police in an Audi A6 in Kilmarnock, also with Savage.
They went back to Manchester, but were again caught by police, this time in May 2017 at the Novotel hotel in Glasgow city centre.
Campbell ran off when police went to the hotel, his DNA was found on a sock discarded during the chase which contained about £5,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine.
Campbell was again arrested in June 2017, closer to home at a hotel in Middleton.
Phone evidence following the incident at the hotel in Glasgow showed that Campbell was trying to sell on the ‘drugs line’ he had built up through his dealing in Scotland.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
He said that any buyer could make profits of £6,000 a week, even after giving Campbell £1,500 a week for its use.
Proceeds of crime investigators will look into the case to discover if any of their ill-gotten gains can be clawed back.
Both Campbell and Peacock pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Campbell also admitted a bail act offence.
James Savage, of Pearl Mill Close, Oldham, was previously sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after admitting two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, as well as a bail act offence.
Judge Mansell said Savage was ‘under a considerable degree of pressure, if not exploitation’ to take part.