Drug dealers shopped boss to police after he began threatening them over debts court heard

A PAIR of terrified drug dealers shopped their boss to the police after he began threatening them over their spiralling cocaine debts, a court heard.

Stuart Edwards, of Brindley Close, Farnworth, and Joseph Broadbent, of Longfield Road, Bolton, both began working for Darren Lomax after buying drugs from him.

But after quickly becoming addicted they ended up owing him thousands of pounds with Lomax heaping more and more pressure on them to work off their debts before beginning to resort to violence and threats.

At Bolton Crown Court, both defendants avoided going to prison after working closely with officers to apprehend Lomax, who has now pleaded guilty to charges of blackmail, being concerned in supply of cocaine and cannabis, assault by beating, criminal damage, possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis, and will be sentenced at a later date.

Anya Horwood, prosecuting, said the evidence in the case had come mainly from the defendants' accounts.

On July 12 2019, Edwards, 38, contacted the police to report he was being blackmailed by Lomax, 35, and explained to officers that he had first met him at a friend's house where he had been offered £150 worth of cocaine.

"From there his cocaine habit developed," said Ms Horwood. "Lomax became his dealer and he began to purchase up to £1,000 of cocaine a month and rapidly found himself accruing a large amount of debt.

"Lomax told him the debt could be reduced if he began to make collections and deliveries of drugs for him."

By November 2018, Ms Horwood described how Lomax began to call in Edwards' debts which had reached "several thousand pounds".

She said Edwards' girlfriend took out a £10,000 loan to pay some of the money back with his family also trying to assist.

Lomax began threatening Edwards who continued to work for him with his boss driving him around in a Mercedes to make drop offs and collections.

In April 2019, Lomax went on holiday to Tenerife with Edwards agreeing to work off more of the debt in his absence.

This involved him visiting Broadbent's address where the drugs were stored before delivering them across Bolton and Farnworth

"He estimated that drug deals worth £1,500 per night were being conducted between Thursdays and Sundays," said Ms Horwood. "By June 2019 Edwards owed, according to Lomax, a figure of around £31,000 and the threats increased."

On June 16 2019, Edwards and his family went for a meal to celebrate his son's 16th birthday during which Lomax telephoned him several times.

They agreed to meet but Lomax became "very angry" and was wearing a knuckle duster with which he hit Edwards to the face before also breaking the windscreen of his car.

Lomax said he was going to pass the drug debt on to others saying they would enforce it which prompted Edwards to go to the police.

Officer's attended Broadbent's address on Longfield Road, Bolton, where they found traces of cocaine worth an estimated £4,000, tubs of creatine used to cut with cocaine, snap bags, scales, skunk cannabis worth around £1,000 and a list of names with amounts owed.

Broadbent, 26, was arrested and told officers he allowed Lomax to use his address to cut and store his drugs and he visited the house daily.

He said Lomax was threatening him and girlfriend about their debts which he estimated at around £15,000 and he admitted chasing other drug users for debts they owed on Lomax's behalf.

Lomax, of Ashton Street, Little Lever, was arrested on July 19 2019 but he denied the drugs at Broadbent's were his.

Ms Horwood added that Lomax had previously received a jail sentence for dealing drugs but both Edwards and Broadbent had no previous convictions.

Defending Broadbent, who pleaded guilty to supply cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent ti supply and possession of cannabis, Nicole Hall, said he had been "frank" with officers and supported the prosecution of Lomax.

"It was particularly helpful as without the willingness to give evidence it would have been very difficult to bring this matter to an appropriate conclusion," she said.

Defending Edwards, who pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and cannabis, David Morton, said he had "fallen into a trap" with Lomax who would sometimes increase his debt "threefold in the same day until it was utterly unmanageable".

"The pressure was never going to be removed," he said. "Lomax had free labour and cash for nothing being given to him willy nilly by friends and supporters of my client - it was gratuitous exploitation."

Passing sentence, Judge Graeme Smith, said: "You are well aware because you are in this position of the negative impact that drugs can have on the lives of individuals - and that is an understatement.

"Your lives were wrecked but you also played your part in wrecking the lives of others because you were both involved in supplying drugs.

"However, it is clear both of you were offending because of your involvement with Lomax who was determined not to let you out of his clutches."

Praising Edwards' "courage" in coming forward, Judge Smith handed him an 18 month sentence suspended for 18 months.

Broadbent received a 20 month sentence suspended for 18 months with both men ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

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