Gang boss who filmed himself counting £150,000 cash ended up on underworld hitlist
Jamie 'Alvin' Oldroyd had to use machines to count his money – but quickly fell into debt with gangland criminals
Drugs gang film themselves counting profits
A drug boss who once filmed himself with so much cash he needed machines to count it ended up on a gangland hitlist. Jamie Oldroyd had access to over a dozen cars that allowed him to play a significant role in the flow of drugs and dirty money across the north of England.
Oldroyd seemed to an outsider to be a successful and ambitious businessman. But the wealth he flaunted was a mirage that papered over the cracks of an underworld enterprise that saw him sink into terrifying levels of debt. The tipping point came when a police operation focussing on Oldroyd caught his associate – Jamie Simpson – with £20m worth of cocaine in a van travelling on the M6.
The ECHO has previously reported how brothers Alan and John Tobin, who supplied drugs to notorious gangs across the UK, were two people most affected by the seizure. But Oldroyd's bank balance also took a significant hit.
READ MORE: Drug boss shot over debt to 'The Banker' after £20m of cocaine seized on M6READ MORE: He spent decades as a police officer but his online posts ended his career
As part of a weekly series looking back at the north west's criminal past, the ECHO has taken a closer look at how Oldroyd's success quickly turned to failure.
Oldroyd's car lease firm offered a handy explanation for the 17 different vehicles detectives saw him driving over the course of a 14 month probe. And it appeared to be a company that was thriving given the cash that flowed through his fingers. In reality that came through the exploits of his drug gang, which supplied huge amounts of cocaine across the north.
Sourcing the class A drug from powerful underworld figures in the north west, including on Merseyside, he would then distribute it to gangs from Manchester to London, Carlisle to Darlington. The profits were undoubtedly significant.
In a homemade film he was captured surrounded by so much cash he needed counting machines to total it up. The living room setting for the video features stacks of notes tied in huge bundles around him.
Detectives who found the footage when they brought down his criminal enterprise believe there was £150,000 in bank notes spread around him. He was even involved in a police chase that saw him flee from officers in a £30,000 buggy.
His gang was described by police as an "extremely well organised team of criminals who would go to great lengths to conceal their criminality and minimise the chances of being exposed". In a move designed to thwart any surveillance activity, members regularly changed mobile phones, swapped cars and interacted through sophisticated messaging apps that protected their conversations.
One of his associates was flamboyant associate Paul Ferraiolo, who drove a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. Formerly of Fox Bank Close in Widnes, Ferraiolo was said to be closely connected with powerful gang figures in Merseyside, linking up one of Oldroyd's cronies with 1kg of cocaine at a Widnes pub.
£20m of cocaine seized on M6
Perhaps Oldroyd's most significant associate was another drugs gang leader – Jamie Simpson. Cheshire Police's Operation Dreadnought, which focused on Oldroyd, led to the capture of Simpson as he travelled up the M6 with 186kg of cocaine – valued at £20m.
The M6 operation saw police surround and block off a van and a Nissan Qashqai as they travelled towards Warrington on the evening of August 2 2018. The vehicles were heading north from Rochester in Kent, with the cocaine loaded into hidden compartments before the long drive to Warrington.
Footage captured from the police helicopter showed how officers from Cheshire Police’s serious and organised crime unit moved in on the drugs caravan, forcing other drivers to divert around the blockade. As the helicopter hovered above it filmed a man in a white t-shirt being taken from the passenger seat of the van and being hauled to the motorway road by officers.
The huge haul showed the level Oldroyd was operating at – one of high stakes and big profits. But while it was clear he had tiers of criminals beneath him, he was not at the top of the underworld. And in his bid to fuel his greed that became clear. While controlling the flow of kilos of cocaine he fell into debt to those above him – most definitely contributed to by the M6 seizure.
The debt was thought to have run into the millions and led to the drug dealer's name effectively finding its way onto a gangland hitlist. The danger to him and his family was very real – businesses linked to his relatives were petrol bombed and had their windows smashed and a family home was even shot at.
A compound where he kept Mercedes cars was broken into and the vehicles damaged in a campaign thought to have been overseen from Merseyside. The threat was so substantial the detectives secretly trying to bring him down had to issue him and his family with Osman letters.
Named after a high profile legal case, these are official warnings which make it clear that police have uncovered evidence that someone is genuinely in danger of being murdered. Oldroyd was eventually tied to the conspiracy when traces of his DNA were found along with cocaine with a street value of over £125,000.
He was busted in February 2018 when he was stopped by officers who found him with almost £1,000. Oldroyd was jailed for 14 years and three months for conspiring to supply cocaine. Simpson was locked up for 11 and a half years for the same charge. However, the threats continued.
'He's put me and our kid in this f***ing hole'
Oldroyd wasn't the only one who was in debt and desperate. The Tobins had lost out significantly when the cocaine was seized from Simpson – also an associate of theirs. The risk to them was great as well, with John Tobin – the younger of the two brothers – facing a series of threats and intimidation tactics that culminated with him being shot outside his Prescot address.
The shooting was said to have been ordered by a female financier known as "The Banker". In a desperate move to pull themselves out of debt the Tobins started feeding information to other alleged underworld figures which resulted in a number of shootings in Warrington, including at the dad of Leon and Anthony Cullen, whose feared drug gang boasted weapons including an AK47 and pump-action shotgun.
The alleged gangland boss who asked Alan Tobin for information was from Manchester – and the seizure of the latter's EncroChat device revealed messages about a man named "Alvin". The Manchester man asked what jail the name was being held in, to which Alan replied: "He's put me and our kid in this f***ing hole we're in and caused us so much s***…I will owe you the world bro carve the c*** up."
The Manchester man responded that he would "take his eyes" and "kill his mum". At the Tobins' sentencing over their drug conspiracies the name "Alvin" was mentioned. It appeared Alan was owed £1.5m by "Alvin" – with court proceedings revealing this was actually Oldroyd, so called because he apparently looked like a chipmunk.
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Cocaine seizure led to removal of major players in north west drug trade
The record cocaine seizure resulted in the removal of major players like Oldroyd in the north west drug trade and led to almost two dozen of his associates being taken off the street. It also led to the arrests and convictions of the Tobin and Cullen brothers.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Evans, who led Cheshire Police's investigation, said: "Despite Oldroyd’s organised crime group going to great lengths to conceal their criminality and avoid being caught we were always going to be one step ahead. Let this be a warning to other organised criminals out there, Cheshire is and always will be, a very difficult place to operate."
Rachael Barber of the Crown Prosecution Service added: "This has been an incredibly complex case with 21 gang members, two trials and sentences stretching to 120 years so far. Many defendants pleaded guilty in the face of a strong case built by the Crown Prosecution Service working closely with Cheshire Police. Like many drugs gangs, these men used different phones, encryption techniques and different cars to try and stay one step ahead of the authorities."
