Dealer back in jail after EIGHT days on the run
A CONVICTED drug dealer is back behind bars after going on the run from prison for EIGHT days.
Michael Green, 36, from Macclesfield, failed to return to HMP Kirkham after being released on temporary license.
His escape promoted a manhunt which centred on Cheshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire areas where he is known to have links.
A eagle-eyed member of the public spotted Green in Macclesfield Cemetery on Westminstrer Road after the Express ran a police appeal featuring his photo and description, including his distinctive ear piercings and tattoos on his neck and hands.
Officers from Macclesfield Police swooped and arrested him.
Green, of Wenlock Close, appeared before magistrates in Crewe where he admitted remaining unlawfully at large after being temporarily released from prison.
He was sentenced to eight weeks in prison.
Magistrates described Green’s actions as ‘a deliberate act’ after he was ‘released on trust’.
Green was jailed for possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply at Chester Crown Court in March 2016.
He was among nine members of an organised crime gang jailed following a year-long undercover operation by Cheshire Police.
Police said the gang pumped £426,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine on to the streets of Macclesfield.
Green, who was described during his sentencing as a ‘leading dealer’ in the gang, was a homeless alcoholic who had spent half his life battling drug addiction.
He collected stock and sold drugs on the streets, selling to undercover officers three times.
He was also accused of dragging a vulnerable teenager into the criminal operation as an assistant, paying him with ‘tokes of the crack pipe’.
Green was one of four men who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
The gang was snared as a result of Operation Alzira, which concluded when 200 police officers launched a series of house raids, resulting in 20 arrests.
A spokesman for Lancashire Police, confirmed Green had been arrested.
Kirkham is a category D prison which means prisoners are trusted to serve their sentence in open conditions.