Threatening texts sent by crime boss to drug users who owed him money

Threatening texts sent by a controlling crime gang boss have been revealed after he was jailed for trafficking heroin and cocaine.

Paul Hickman bombarded terrified customers who owed him money with threats to make them pay.

In one text he told a drug user in North Wales ‘there will be no more talk’ before he armed himself with a gun.

Hickman, of Aigburth, Liverpool, was jailed for 12 years on Friday as the ‘controlling mind’ behind an operation to supply Class As from Merseyside to the Welsh coast.

His second in command, Joseph Jones, was jailed for eight years for his part in the operation.

In his message to the customer in Wales, sent in June 2018, he said: ‘Make sure this[a drugs debt] is paid today. No more bulls*** texts and phone calls to them.

‘I want my money, you don’t have to wait for the car sale, you have other places to get it, I have used the time, you’ve been lying, to find out.

‘TODAY there will be no more talk.’

Three hours later he was pursued by police in a high-speed chase that only ended when his BMW flipped onto its roof.

He was found with a gun on him at the time.

One of Hickman’s customers was so scared of him he offered to sell prized possessions to get him cash and avoid violent reprisals.

The customer messaged Jones: ‘Yo lad, tell u the truth I f***** up man.

‘I ain’t got no money, I still got the 3 oz of the w.

‘But no dark or cash, but I’ll sell my bike and dogs and get the money.

‘I have f***** up with money, but only way I can pay debt back is to keep grafting, so tell Hickman that.’

Other texts revealed in court were sent from Hickman to Jones, ordering him to: ‘Get texts out on that Swansea [phone] all the time till people come back.’

He then said: ‘Sound, get texts out for Swansea all day till people start getting s***.’

Prosecutors said this was a ‘reference to resuming their disrupted street dealing operation in Swansea, with Jones being directed to get out drug flare messages in the city to previous customers.’

Operation Banjo, launched by Merseyside Police, led to secret surveillance of Hickman’s gang during an eight month operation, between January and August in 2018.

Police found Hickman would cut drugs locally in Merseyside before they were transported to Swansea in wholesale quantities to be divided and bagged.

Hickman would place young Liverpudlian drug dealers in homes in Wales to target street drug users there.

In total, police followed six journeys into Wales with a minimum seizure of three ounces of cocaine to a maximum recovery of half a kilo of heroin powder and a kilo of cutting agent.

Throughout the period, Hickman used at least 10 phones, changing them after key arrests. Jones changed his phone four times during the eight month period.

Prosecutor Ben Jones said: ‘This was a well organised operation sourcing wholesale quantities of drugs, the quantities seized might be described as mid-market.

‘Significant efforts were made to avoid detection with the threat of force clear from text messages.’

Hickman is already serving a sentence of five years and three months after a gun was found in his crashed BMW, taking his total stretch in prison to 17 years.