Woman accused of ‘ratting out’ the ‘Boss Man’ who made horrifying threat

Joshua Hayes and his co-conspirators were brought down by a secret bug which police planted in his Mercedes, which they used to discuss their criminal activities

A woman was accused of “ratting” on a drug dealer who threatened to “smash her head in” Joshua Hayes, who dubbed himself “the Boss Man”, and his accomplices were brought down by a covert listening device which police had planted in his Mercedes.

Besides operating a profitable cocaine distribution network, the organised crime gang also stashed Skorpion submachine guns inside a cavity within the walls of a flat. They even arranged for a plasterer to carry out work on the property to ensure that the lethal weapons could remain concealed from police.

Liverpool Crown Court was told that Merseyside Police initially raided two flats on Condron Road North in Litherland on July 13 last year, suspecting that firearms were being stored inside. Whilst they failed to uncover any such weapons at this point, detectives subsequently examined materials which had been gathered “as a result of a device within Mr Hayes’ car”.

Nicola Daley, prosecuting, explained how these concerned conversations between the 34-year-old and co-defendants Anthony Bennett, James Harrison and Georgie Medway had occurred inside the Mercedes three weeks prior, on June 21 2024. This revealed them discussing hiring a plasterer to guarantee that the firearms were kept “proper safe” in a “hole in the wall”.

This prompted officers to return to one of the properties, the home of drug user Michael Caldwell, where they drilled through a freshly plastered and decorated section. They subsequently discovered three individual bags wrapped in a tea towel, each housing a firearm, concealed within a “void” in the walls.

The seized weapons were identified as two Czech-made Skorpion submachine guns and a self-loading pistol, reports the Liverpool Echo. Multiple expanding bullets, engineered to detonate upon impact to inflict maximum harm, were also retrieved alongside the automatic weapons.

Caldwell’s DNA was found on the trigger guard of one Skorpion and the rear grip of the other. Medway’s DNA was likewise discovered on the latter weapon, whilst the former bore the DNA of teenager Thomas Ball, who was also forensically connected to the pistol.

The discovery occurred amidst a “large scale street dealing operation” orchestrated by Hayes, who appeared in court wearing a blue Asics tracksuit and sporting cropped dark hair.

Ms Daley outlined how this involved him distributing class A drugs to a “lot of different customers”, with surveillance equipment having captured him discussing his estimation that the mobile phone used for his criminal enterprise was valued at approximately £200,000.

Hayes was meanwhile overheard telling his accomplices that he “supplied about a quarter of a kilogram of cocaine every five days”, with the operation running “between midday and 2 o’clock in the morning every day”. He was also caught referring to himself to others as “the Boss Man”.

Ms Daley continued: “Overall, the crown would submit that, over the period of January up to the 15th of July, there was a supply of approximately 9kg of cocaine. The wholesale value of that amount would likely be in the region of £252,000 to £324,000, with the potential street supply being worth about £360,000 to £900,000.”

The court was told of one incident when Hayes jetted off on holiday to Tenerife on June 12, putting Stephen Sutter and John Newton in control of his criminal enterprise. However, Newton was subsequently arrested on June 20 whilst travelling as a passenger in a Ford Focus driven by Adam Dean on Altcar Road in Formby, being discovered with cash totalling £259.90.

Hayes touched down in the UK during the early hours of the same day, with recordings capturing him telling Bennett during a phone call at this point: “The worker’s been nicked with the phone lad. John Newts been driving round, but I can’t get hold of ’em bro.

“I’m gonna smash them up lad. What do you reckon I should do lad? Wait till he gets out and see if he’s still got the phone? I’ve been to his. There’s no answer lad, there’s no answer off both of them lad. F***ing joke this lad. Can’t even go on holiday for a f***ing week bro.”

Hayes then headed to O2 in Aintree and bought a fresh handset and SIM card to keep his operations running smoothly. After Dean was freed from custody, he was overheard during another call saying: “You daft b****rd, you’re driving around with my phone. It’s worth 200 quid lad.”

Soon after, Hayes was caught discussing co-defendant Kayley Wilson with Harrison, apparently convinced she had grassed up Dean and Newton to police, telling him: “I’ll smash her head in, I swear. I’m not in the mood today. I will stab someone or I will slash the face right off them. I have had enough.”

Wilson later protested her innocence to Hayes during another phone conversation that same afternoon. But he accused her: “You ratted that other phone, and now you’re trying to rat us cause you’ve been f***ed off.”

Ms Daley said of this: “It may have been that, by that stage, Kayley Wilson was not involved and was not being used. The belief of Joshua Hayes was she was trying to have an effect on his business, either by reporting to the police or working with others in a similar business around the area.”

It came after Hayes was found to have laundered tens of thousands of pounds of his proceeds through the Monzo and Revolut bank accounts of Wilson, who wore a pink jacket over a black t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “perfectly imperfect” during a hearing last week.

Hayes left others, including Aaron O’Brien, in charge of his graft phone for periods of time when he was holidaying abroad in locations including Turkey. Sutter’s home address was meanwhile used for “bagging up” drugs for onwards supply.

The covert listening device also recorded Bennett discussing a “lab” for manufacturing crack cocaine at the second property on Condron Road North. This was the residential address of Matthew Ball, whom his fellow defendants referred to as “G in the Wags” and “G Wags”.

Subsequent raids of this flat uncovered packages containing 50g and 27g of cocaine, 18 tied plastic wraps totalling nearly a kilogram of 85 per cent pure crack cocaine and a combined 132g of heroin.

Amounts of cutting agent, a knuckle duster and additional drug-related equipment were also seized from the premises, which stood empty during the police operation.

Harrison was meanwhile shown to have advertised “various different strains of high quality cannabis” for purchase through Instagram and Telegram. In the month leading up to his arrest on July 15 last year alone, he was demonstrated to have offered to provide “in excess of 41kg” to his clientele.

Over a six-month period, experts estimated that this total would have escalated to “very large quantities” of approximately 248kg. The 28 year old was also reported to have journeyed to Manchester with Hayes and Bennett on one occasion to collect “two large carrier bags”, suspected to contain cannabis.

Matthew Ball, of Willow Way in Croxteth, admitted supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine and possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply. The 28-year-old was imprisoned for nine years and two months by Judge Gary Woodhall on Friday.

Thomas Ball, of Sedburn Road in Kirkby, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possession prohibited firearms, supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine and being concerned in the supply of ketamine and cannabis. The 18-year-old was handed four years in a young offenders’ institute.

Bennett, of Oriel Crescent in Kirkdale, admitted conspiracy to possess prohibited firearms and ammunition for sale or transfer, two counts of conspiracy to possession ammunition without a certificate, conspiracy to supply ketamine and cannabis and production of crack cocaine. The 31-year-old was locked up for 17 years and seven months.

Caldwell, of Condron Road North in Litherland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess prohibited firearms, two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate and conspiracy to possess prohibited ammunition. The 40-year-old was jailed for five years.

Dean, of no fixed address, admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal criminal property. The 28-year-old was sentenced to four years and eight months.

Harrison, of Akenside Street in Bootle, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess prohibited firearms and ammunition for sale or transfer, two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate and conspiracy to supply ketamine and cannabis. He was given 15-and-a-half years behind bars.

Hayes, of Ryefield Lane in Litherland, admitted conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunitions, possession of a firearm when prohibited for life, two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate, conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to conceal criminal property. He was imprisoned for 20 years.

Medway, of Rosalind Way in Bootle, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess prohibited firearms and ammunition for sale or transfer, two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate, conspiracy to supply ketamine and cannabis and production of crack cocaine. The 21-year-old was handed 12 years.

Newton, of Rydal Avenue in Crosby, admitted conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs. The 33-year-old received a total of four years.

O’Brien, a 24 year old from Sonning Avenue in Litherland, and Wilson, aged 33 of Eden Vale in Netherton, admitted to conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs and conspiracy to conceal criminal property. They were handed prison sentences of six years and eight months and four years and 10 months respectively.

Sutter, of Osborne Road in Litherland, admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to conceal criminal property and possession of cannabis. The 33-year-old was jailed for six years and eight months.

Following the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Roberts of Merseyside Police expressed his relief: “I am in no doubt that communities across Merseyside are safer now that these individuals are behind bars. Members of this OCG possessed weapons, such as the Skorpion, that have been used to kill innocent people in Merseyside.

“Victims have died after being caught in the crossfire of disputes between groups like this who depend on violence, threats and intimidation to maintain their trade in illegal drugs. So many lives have been torn apart by OCGs, but we continue to work on a daily basis to rid our communities of them, bring offenders like these to justice and remove the extremely dangerous weapons and illicit drugs they possess from circulation.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank all officers involved in this investigation. Their dedication and commitment has led to this day, and it gives me great satisfaction to see their hard work pay off.

“Their enquiries established that these criminals were in possession of dangerous weapons, significant quantities of drugs and large sums of illicit cash. Officers on the ground then acted with courage and speed to detain the offenders in their homes, in cars and on the street”.

“Twelve people will now serve prison sentences as a consequence of their actions. Officers and staff at Merseyside Police come to work every day to protect our communities and results such as this show how worthwhile those efforts are. If you want to help us in these efforts, please give us any information you have on OCG activity and we will do everything we can to protect our communities.”