Dealer and girlfriend’s luxury holiday pics before drug empire crashed down

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A crack and heroin dealer has been jailed after his drug empire collapsed, while his beach-loving girlfriend walked free.

Christopher Williams, 32, of Old Swan, Liverpool, and his partner Lauren Callister, 25, have been ordered to pay back £25,000.

Williams led a gang who flooded the streets of Barrow with Class A drugs, while he Callister enjoyed lavish holidays in Thailand.

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While his underlings were ferrying drugs and spreading misery up the M6 and into Cumbrian streets Callister was sharing snaps of her posing in a bikini on a boat trip with her drug dealer boyfriend at Pileh Lagoon which she said was the "best place iv (sic) ever stayed."

A police investigation eventually established that Williams was a drug boss, and he was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack.

In November 2021, the gang leader, of Douglas Close, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years at Preston Crown Court.

He admitted roping Callister, originally from Carlisle, into the drugs plot, which spared her a prison sentence.

Callister was originally charged with being involved in the same heroin and crack cocaine conspiracies, but was cleared of these charges.

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However she admitted converting criminal property and walked free from court after being handed a two-year community order with a 50-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 80 hours of unpaid work.

At a Proceeds of Crime Hearing on Friday Judge Simon Medland QC said Williams made a total of £102,089.82 from the conspiracy, reports the Manchester Evening News.

However, the defendant only had £19,589.23 in available assets to repay his debt to society.

The judge ordered him to hand over all the money available to him – which is currently being held by the police.

Callister profited by £4,638.70 and was ordered to repay the lot.

Speaking after the gang was jailed for more than 40 years, a spokesman for Cumbria's South Community Serious and Organised Crime Team said it was working alongside Merseyside Police to target County Lines drug dealers.

He said: "The Drugs Unit has an outstanding record of disrupting and convicting organised crime groups who set up in the area in an attempt to prey on vulnerable people for profit.

"The team works closely with colleagues in Merseyside to crack down on these individuals.

"We will continue to relentlessly pursue those involved in serious and organised crime, arrest them and bring them before the courts for sentencing."

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