Man jailed for county lines drug dealing in Macclesfield

Ciaran Laurie appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday 12 July where he was sentenced to tree years and six months in prison.

The 23-year-old, of Edward Road, Manchester, had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine) and two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine).

The case against him began in March 2024 when officers became aware of a mobile phone number which was being used to sell illegal drugs in the Macclesfield area.

Data showed that the phone was regularly sending out flare messages from the Manchester area and would then travel over the border to Macclesfield where the drugs were being sold.

At 11.26am on Wednesday 13 March officers on patrol in Adlington, stopped an Audi A6 on London Road and spoke to the driver and passenger.

Due to their behaviour a decision was taken to arrest the pair and search the car.

Following his arrest, Laurie admitted that he had drugs secreted in his underpants, he then retrieved two packages containing numerous wraps of white and brown powder.

During a search of the vehicle officers also recovered a mobile phone, a sim card and a number of other wraps of class A and B drugs.

164 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine were recovered in total, which were found to have an estimated street value of £1,670.

Officers also confirmed that they phone seized from Laurie was the number which was being used by the ‘Manc Jack’ county lines team to sell drugs in the Macclesfield area.

During questioning Laurie refused to answer any questions put to him, but despite his silence he was later charged with drugs offences.

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Rob Balfour, of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit at Cheshire Police said:

“I welcome the sentence handed to Laurie and I hope that it acts as a warning to any other Manchester drug dealers who are thinking about coming over the border to Cheshire.

“Like Laurie has now discovered, here at Cheshire police we’re committed to doing all we can to stop drug activity on our streets by making the county an extremely hostile place for criminals.

“Illegal drugs can have a devastating impact on not only drug users, but the community around them.

“We will always act on any information about drug activity provided to us and would urge anyone who believes this activity is happening near to them to please contact us on 101 or visit: 

www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us

Pictured - Ciaran Laurie of Edward Road in Manchester.