Dealer 'apologised' to customers over quality of drugs

Drug dealer Christopher Duckworth would receive complaints from users about the quality of drugs he was supplying

A convicted drug dealer sent out an apology to his customers over the low quality of crack cocaine and heroin that he was supplying them with. Christopher Duckworth named the supply line "Ducky".

However, the quality of the drugs that he was selling ended up being so poor that "Ducky" had to hand out complimentary drugs to his customers to appease them. Liverpool Crown Court heard that users would frequently complain about both the quality and quantity of what he was supplying them with.

Duckworth continued his involvement in selling drugs after being arrested and then released by police. But he was caught in the act of trying to smash up mobile phones, the Liverpool ECHO reports.

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Officers had spotted Duckworth appearing to be dealing drugs from a house on Junction Lane in St Helens on July 29 2024. After searching him, officers found that Duckworth, 30, was in possession of £260 in cash as well as two mobile phones.

One the phones was "ringing constantly". It also had "messages popping up on the screen requesting drugs", the court heard.

Prosecutor Iain Criddle described how analysis of the phone revealed that it contained a series of "flare messages".

These would be sent out to advertise heroin, crack cocaine, and the class C substance pregabalin.

Mr Criddle said: "On occasions, some users were complaining about the quality and or quantity of that which had been supplied to them.

"The defendant dealt with these complaints and was in a position, on occasion, to apologise for the poor quality or low quantity of the drugs and say, as a form of compensation, that next time they could have two extra wraps for free.

"Clearly, the defendant has some responsibility over the supply chain rather than being somebody who is simply told to go out and supply wraps of heroin and crack cocaine to users."

Following his arrest Duckworth was released under investigation. He was later spotted driving a black Audi close to a block of flats in the town on March 25 this year.

After seeing the officers, he ran into an apartment and was followed by officers, who recovered three further phones which had seemingly been "smashed up to evade detection", from the address.

One of these was said to have been "attribute to the Ducky line", which had been used to supply drugs in the area in a "county lines-style operation" over the previous month. Mr Criddle added: "The Ducky line was clearly attributable to the defendant, for no other reason than it is clearly his name.

"[The phones] had been smashed, perhaps unfortunately for Mr Duckworth not to the extent that the police could not get any information from them. What the police were able to establish was that the Ducky county line, over a period of five weeks, had been sending out flare messages to users advertising that drugs were available and sold on approximately 14 days over that period."

Duckworth was said to have been "clearly under the influence of controlled drugs" following this second arrest, but refused to provide a sample of blood after being conveyed to a police station. He has a total of 15 previous convictions for 22 offences, including receiving a 15-month imprisonment suspended for two years for possession of heroin and cannabis with intent to supply in 2021.

This sentence was subsequently breached however, resulting in him serving the prison term. Joanne Daniels, defending, told the court today: "He has been practical. He is looking into educational courses that the prison offers and wants to pursue these.

"He is in a relationship. He gets on well with his parents. The defendant has two daughters from a previous relationship. One of his daughters is currently one year old. The other is 10 years old. He wants to be a better father than he has been. He knows that, to do that, he needs to change his ways.

"Drugs have almost always been a feature in his life, and they have simply taken over. This pattern began as a youth. Since then, it has spiralled and escalated into supply.

"It is a very hard habit to shake, and it was very easy to slip into old ways. At the age of 30, after serving a custodial sentence for these matters and after a period of sobriety, there is still time for the defendant to change his ways."

Duckworth admitted two counts of being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine, being concerned in the supply of pregabalin and failing to provide a specimen of blood for analysis. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a khaki green Under Armour tracksuit, he was jailed for five years and four months and banned from driving for five years.

Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: "Such was your role that, when there were complaints made about quality or quantity, you were able to respond saying that you would give them compensation. That clearly shows that you were in control of that graft phone.

"Anybody who deals drugs in this city at the level that you have been dealing at will receive a custodial sentence. You only need to spend a few days in these courts to realise the devastating effect that these drugs have on the community. You involved yourself in peddling misery to others.

"You clearly had an operational and management function within this chain of supply. I do not doubt that there were others above you in the chain but, in my judgement, you were clearly playing a significant role.

"This was dealing directly to street users. In your case, it was not just dealing on a couple of occasions. This was you operating and controlling a graft phone on two occasions. I hope that it is right that you intend to spend your time in custody productively and that you hope to turn your life around, not least for your daughters."