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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Rebecca Koncienzcy

Who is Paul Prescott? Liverpool drug lord taken down at airport on 24 Hours in Police Custody

Paul Prescott is a Liverpool drug lord who is currently serving a jail term for his part in a conspiracy to supply herbal cannabis.

The now 55-year-old will appear on Channel 4's Watch Liverpool drug lord squirm wrapped in a blue blanket as he is quizzed by police as they chart the event that led to his capture and persecution.

How did the police track him down, what were his previous convictions?

Early life

Prescott was born in 1964 and grew up in Liverpool.

Prescott’s cousin, Steve, is a former intelligence officer from Merseyside.

He appeared on the Channel 4 show to talk about what Prescott’s childhood in Liverpool was like.

He said: “His mum and dad worked hard. His brothers and sisters worked hard. And he was the one well off as far as I knew. His dad worked in the power station I think.

"So what made Paul different from his brothers and sisters, who would know?"

He says that Paul is a 'career criminal' and claims he could earn around £10,000 a week, maybe more.

Watch Liverpool drug lord squirm wrapped in a blue blanket as he is quizzed by police 

He added: "They don't stop. If you are used to that type of income, where are you gonna get that? You are not going to retrain as a plaster.

"A criminal like that, The second they get out of jail they are going to want to reconnect with everyone who is doing it and get back into the game."

2006 conviction

Prescott was known to police.

In 2006, he was jailed for eight years for his part in one of the biggest amphetamine production cases of its time following a long-running operation carried out by the National Crime Squad.

Prescott was imprisoned for his part of the production in a family home in Huyton along with eight other gang members after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply amphetamine and cocaine.

Pupils kept in classrooms amid distressing scenes as staff member airlifted to hospital 

Drugs haul in warehouse

745 kilos of drugs, a mix of herbal cannabis, cannabis resin and amphetamine. (Bedfordshire Police)

Following his release, in 2016 and detectives tracked a lorry to a warehouse in Bedfordshire.

Prescott had stashed 745 kilos of drugs - a mix of herbal cannabis, cannabis resin and amphetamine - and had left damning forensic evidence behind.

Airport arrest

Prescott detained at Manchester Airport (Channel 4)


He was caught trying to flee the country to Costa Blanca, Spain and was taken to a police station in Luton for questioning.

Unloading his items at the station, Prescott was arrested with £3,000 in cash and tells officers he is not in paid employment at the time.

24 hours in police custody

Prescott being interviewed by police (Channel 4)

 

Prescott spends the night in a cell before being qWatch Liverpool drug lord squirm wrapped in a blue blanket as he is quizzed by police

DC Hannam tells him: "Your blood was found on the bag inside a crate that contain cannabis.

"Do you have any explanation at all as to how your blood ended up inside a crate that has come from abroad and ended up in England?"

DC Hannam then shows Prescott images of the drugs 'in case he didn't believe him'.

Pointing to the photographic evidence, Hannam tells him: "This was one of the bags of cannabis, and your blood or what turned out to be your blood was found here.

"You've cut yourself and bled on to this bag, how are you able to explain that?"

You can watch how all the events played out in Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody, Monday, April 1, or catch up on 4OD

2017 conviction

Paul Prescott was jailed for 26 months for conspiracy to supply (Bedfordshire Police)

 

In September 2017, Prescott was sentenced to 26 months in prison at Luton Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply herbal cannabis.

Police moved fast after the discovery of the Class A and Class B drugs, tracking Prescott to Manchester Airport.
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