Dad caught with ammunition and £100k of drugs given hefty jail term

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday (January 22) that on the afternoon of June 23, last year police had stopped a BMW on Linacre Road, in Bootle.

The driver, who was not before the court, was found with a mobile phone with a voice message from someone who wanted to obtain a firearm and ammunition.

There was also a photograph of drugs and a drug dealer’s tick list and it led police to execute a search warrant at Carl Donohue’s home in Kent Road, Sutton, St Helens, where he was present, said Henry Riding, prosecuting.

The search uncovered £22,470 cash, several mobile phones, a cash counting machine, scales and a stolen motorbike, three magazines for a self-loading Glock pistol and a total of 217 rounds of ammunition.

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These involved two boxes containing 108 different varieties of 9mm rounds for self-loading pistols and sub-machine guns. There were 89 Remington 5.56 rounds and two plastic slips containing 20 5.56 rounds. 

Mr Riding said some were soft-nosed bullets designed to expand on impact designed for a rifle.

Police also found cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and a kilo of cutting agent for the cocaine.

There was just over half a kilo of cocaine of import quality purity with a street value of up to £52,000; 15,119 ecstasy tablets worth £150,000 and five kilos of pink ketamine which was believed to have been adulterated with ecstasy.

Donohue, 37, pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition without a certificate; possessing criminal property and possessing ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine with intent to supply.

John Rowan, defending, said that Donohue only had one previous conviction which was for drink driving. He has young children and comes from a close knit family who, although disappointed at his behaviour, are supporting him.

“He cannot begin to understand the thought process behind him becoming involved at his age with a lack of antecedent history for something quite so serious.

“He has sat in his cell every day and every night since his arrest regretting and going to get his head round how he allowed himself to become involved in this level of criminality.”

Mr Rowan said that the defendant had been “bashing” drugs at the premises which was unusual for those playing leading roles.”

Donohue was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday (Image: Stock)

Judge David Potter said: “Those who involve themselves in organised crime relating to the supply of guns and possession of viable ammunition commit very serious offences.”

The judge told Donohue: “Drugs supply wreaks havoc on our streets and events of the last 18  months or so demonstrate too graphically how those involved in the supply of drugs are shot or murdered.”

He pointed out that that was often with the sort of 9mm calibre ammunition that Donohue was caught with and victims include “wholly innocent members of the public who are caught up with feuds of drug dealing gangs.”

Sentencing Donohue to 14 years and three months in jail, the judge added that the defendant “was clearly trusted as a collector and banker of money and warehousing a considerable amount of drugs.

"You accept you were involved in the wholesale supply of drugs. You were directly involved in the organised onward supply of drugs and there was clearly significant financial advantage.”