Members of a UK drugs supply gang who offered discounted cocaine after a Premier League player’s father was freed are jailed for more than 63 years.
Members of a UK drug supply gang who offered a special discount on cocaine to mark the release of a Premier League footballer’s kidnapped father have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
The group sent a promotional message to more than 9,000 contacts advertising reduced prices for cocaine after former Liverpool FC forward Luis Díaz’s father was released in November 2023 following a 13-day kidnapping in Colombia.
At Liverpool Crown Court on 9 February, eight defendants were sentenced to a combined total of more than 63 years in prison after admitting conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Gang leader Paul Lockyer, 42, from Birkdale, and his associates ran a network that supplied both high-purity “flake” cocaine and adulterated variants across the Liverpool area. Messages recovered from a “graft phone” showed hundreds of daily orders and promotions, including delivery offers and special deals linked to current events.
Police carried out warrants at multiple addresses on 6 May 2025, arresting all eight members and seizing 874 grams of cocaine, drug-mixing equipment and cash believed to be proceeds of crime. Investigators also found thousands of messages detailing drug sales and customer contacts stored on the phone.
Prosecutors estimated the gang dealt at least 9.9 kilograms of cocaine between October 2023 and May 2025, generating more than £620,000 in revenue.
An NCA senior manager described the operation as operating like a “fast food delivery service for drugs,” with rapid dispatch to customers and promotional pricing to encourage repeat business. The agency emphasised that cocaine distribution fuels significant harm and violence in communities.
Sentences included 11 years and four months for Lockyer, with others serving terms ranging from four and a half to ten years, reflecting their varying roles in the conspiracy.
Reports are sourced from official documents, law-enforcement updates, and credible investigations.
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