Overview
- Seven defendants were sentenced Wednesday at Liverpool Crown Court for a conspiracy that exploited a child and supplied Class A, B and C drugs.
- Kieron Platt received nine years and Dylan Hamlet five for drug supply and blackmail, while Ben Smith was jailed for 28 months for drug supply.
- Abigail Pengelly got a two-year sentence suspended for 18 months with 240 hours of unpaid work, and three other women received community or suspended orders with rehabilitation requirements.
- The group used a 16-year-old to carry drugs, cash and burner phones across Merseyside, supplying cocaine, ketamine, cannabis and nitrous oxide between June 2024 and July 2025.
- Platt’s July 9, 2025 arrest with the line’s phone, drugs and cash led investigators through telecoms analysis to the others, and CCSET officers safeguarded the boy and referred him for support as police urged tip-offs via 101 or Crimestoppers.