Drug dealer, 21, arrested in gym jacuzzi

A DRUG dealer who was a member of a county lines style gang has been jailed after being arrested in a jacuzzi at a Widnes gym.

Jack Ross, 21, was a member of a south Liverpool drugs crew, which flooded Shrewsbury and Whitchurch with crack cocaine and heroin.

They used local dealers – who provided safe houses, transport and information about the patch.

Police believe Ross was a gang member who ‘preyed on the vulnerable’ as they made around £500,000 from the misery of drugs.

‘County lines’ is the term for the growing trend of city drug gangs exploiting younger people to sell hard drugs in small towns around the country.

And it can now be revealed how Ross was jailed after police caught up with him in the jacuzzi at the DW Gym in Widnes.

He was wanted in relation to a breach of his licence conditions, and drug offences.

At the time, last April police said: “We have arrested a wanted man following inquiries in Widnes, Cheshire, yesterday.

“At around 2pm, Matrix officers located the man in a jacuzzi in DW Gym, Cross Street, Widnes.

“Twenty-year-old Jack Ross from Whitney Road, Woolton, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine in West Mercia and will appear at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court, Worcestershire this morning.”

Last week Ross, now of Prenton Green, Speke, was jailed for five years and six months after being convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

After the sentencing, Det Ch Inspector Gavin Kinrade said: “This gang preyed on vulnerable members of our community addicted to illicit drugs.

“They showed no regard for these very vulnerable individuals or to the misery and devastation heroin and crack cocaine cause to individuals, their families or our community. They were motivated solely by greed.

“This was a complex and time consuming investigation and these offenders have been brought to justice by a professional and dedicated team.”