Trainee beautician Mireille Gold, 44, (pictured in an undated pic) was the ‘Mrs Fix It’ who fielded heroin and cocaine deliveries at her home in Cumbria from a crime gang based 100 miles away in Merseyside
A mother of two beautician who ran a drugs racket supplying tourists in picturesque Lake District towns with what she dubbed ‘turkey and stuffing’ has been jailed for almost four years.
Mireille Gold, 44, was the ‘Mrs Fix It’ who fielded heroin and cocaine deliveries at her home in Cumbria from a crime gang based 100 miles away in Merseyside.
Group text messages saying ‘On with both’ would be sent out to addicts when the drugs were available for sale and at Christmas a message would go out saying: ‘On with Turkey and Stuffing.’
It is thought many of the drugs were sold to visitors to the Lakes which attracts 16 million people each year.
Gold, who lived in Barrow-in-Furness close to the national park, was said to be a ‘trusted, local sub-dealer’ and a user of the so called ‘950 phone’ – a drugs hotline run by the Liverpool hoodlums.
Police arrested Gold in March last year after an operation against drug traffickers in the area and was found to be in possession of crack cocaine.
She claimed she peddled the drug as she was in debt and was offered £500 to collect a package and bring it back to Barrow hidden inside her underwear.
At Burnley Crown Court, Gold admitted conspiracy to supply drugs and was jailed for three years and nine months.
Andrew Calland, 31, who delivered many of the drugs to Barrow and collected cash for their sale was jailed for four years and four months.
Gold, (undated photo) who lived in Barrow-in-Furness, was said to be a ‘trusted, local sub-dealer’ and a user of the so called ‘950 phone’ – a drugs hotline run by the Liverpool hoodlums
Lee Beattie, 31, was jailed for three years and nine months for conspiracy whilst his girlfriend Kasey Browne, 29, a mother of three was given a six months jail suspended for a year after she admitted allowing her premises to be used for drug dealing.
The court heard police launched Operation Sequel to stop the gang fielding drugs from Liverpool into South Cumbria between November 2016 and May 2017.
‘In terms of the text messages sent out to potential customers, they were ‘on with both,’ said Peter Barr prosecuting.
‘They plainly meant they had both diamorphine and cocaine available for onward supply.
‘The supply was managed from Merseyside by means of group text messages indicating when drugs were available but was dependent upon couriers supplying to a local agent who engaged in street-level dealing.
‘But a phone number, used by the police, had managed to infiltrate the distribution lists of the defendants.
Police arrested Gold (seen with a friend in an undated pic) last year after an operation against drug traffickers in the area and was found to be in possession of crack cocaine
‘This meant that the police were in receipt of the text messages sent by the drug dealers when they advertised they had drugs available.
‘By December 2016 the principal phone used by the dealers was sending out messages advertising that drugs were available.
‘On December 1 2016: “On with both. Out Late.” Similar messages were distributed on further dates.
‘On the 26th of December a message with a festive twist read: “Merry Christmas everyone on with Turkey and Stuffing”.’
Calland was the main driver to and from the Merseyside area and used a vehicles hired from a company based in Stockport area.
He was said to be the ‘trusted lieutenant’ of the drugs boss controlling the ‘950 phone’ and the principal driver.
Beattie was the ‘main man’ on the ground in Barrow who acted on behalf of the user of the 950 phone whilst Browne allowed her home to be used as a drugs HQ.
Gold came to the attention of the police towards the end of the operation.
Mr Barr added: ‘ It was clear that she was a trusted, local sub-dealer acting for Andrew Calland and/or the user of the 950 phone.’
‘When she was interviewed she admitted the offence of possession with intent to supply.
‘She stated that she was in debt and that she was offered £500 to collect a package and bring it back to Barrow.
Gold (seen in undated photos) claimed she peddled the drug as she was in debt and was offered £500 to collect a package and bring it back to Barrow hidden inside her underwear
‘She stated this was agreed the day before in a face to face conversation. Gold refused to name the individuals concerned and refused to say where she collected the package from.
‘Gold stated that the package contained crack cocaine and that it was about her person.
‘Gold said that she only collected this one package. Regarding the mobile phone that was recovered in from her car, Gold answered no comment to all questions relating to its ownership and use.’
Gold (seen in an Army fancy dress costume) admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply
Gold admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply. Her lawyer David Traynor said: ‘Ms Gold was involved for about a month.’
‘She was living at an address and working for a man who took her rent out of her wages and she was essentially taken advantage of giving her very little money.
‘She is determined not to become involved in this life style again. She is doing beauty courses in prison and when she is released she will to college.
‘Her daughter works in a hair dressers already and the plan is to set up a business together.
‘Her mother was diagnosed with cancer shortly before her remand and Miss Gold has been useless to her.
‘She is the long-term carer for her son who had a car accident some years and she was the registered carer for him. She knows people need her.’
Sentencing, Judge Beverley Lunt said: ‘The offences in question arose out of an operation which reviewed a very organised operation committed over a period of six months from people from Liverpool intent on making money from the misery of drug addicts in Barrow.
‘This was a well organised conspiracy but there is no question that the principal organisers are not stood before me today.
‘There would have been a substantial amount of drugs delivered and the use of drug addicts to supply to other drug addicts is all too familiar with me.’