Blackpool dad turned drug-runner to help disabled son fulfil bakery dream
A caring father who turned drug runner to help his disabled son set up his own business has been jailed.
Christopher O’Neill was caught with eight kilograms of amphetamine in the boot of his car after being stopped by police in Preston.
The 57-year-old told the city’s Crown Court he was transporting the drugs as a “one-off transaction” to get money to help his 22-year-old son, who is registered blind and autistic, to realise his dream of owning a micro-bakery business.
But after Judge Robert Altham heard O’Neill, of Convent Crescent, Blackpool, had previous drugs offences and had served a four-year jail term for possession of amphetamine and cannabis back in 2016, he sent him back to prison for three years and nine months.
“It is clear you are a good family man,” he told him. “It’s a real shame that you made this terrible decision and put yourself in this position today.”
The court heard police in an unmarked patrol car followed O’Neill’s vehicle on the M6 near Preston and eventually stopped it after it left the motorway and drove onto Garstang Road at Broughton.
A search of the car uncovered a heavy bag in the boot which contained four vacuum-packed packages of amphetamine covered by a bundle of clothes. Each package contained two kilos of the drug with a total street value of up to £8,000.
Barrister Jordan Millican, representing O’Neill, said a prison sentence for his client was “inevitable”.
He said there was no dispute he had an expectation of “significant” financial gain given the quantity and quality of the drugs found in his car.
But he urged Judge Altham to make the sentence as short as possible because of the impact this would have on O’Neill’s family.
“This was an isolated incident,” he said. “He has shown genuine remorse. His son has a medical condition requiring care.” He also pointed out that while O’Neill had previous drug convictions, he had not offended for nine years prior to this.
Mr Millican said his client had been out of work due to ill health. His disabled son was at college and wanted to set up his own bakery business.
“That is the under-lying basis of criminality in this case. He was trying to help his son. He knows (now) it wasn’t the right way to go about it.”
Judge Altham, Preston’s most senior judge, said O’Neill had claimed this was a “one-off transaction” and he was not playing any further part in the onward supply of the drugs.
“You were in debt, out of work, unwell and you were presented with a chance of making some money to assist your disabled son to set up a business.
“(Your) incarceration in prison will have a significant impact on the income of your household.
“It is clear you are a man capable of good hard work, a good family man. One can only hope that when you complete this sentence you will return to being a hard-working family man.”
He said O’Neill’s role in the drug supply was a significant one with the expectation of a significant financial gain.
He ordered the destruction of the drugs seized by police.