A PAIR found with £40,000 of drugs boasted of 'recruiting Warrington lads' to work in their ketamine business.

Daniel O'Neill and Brady Tierney wanted to undercut their undercut rivals in the town.

Police found nearly £40,000 of drugs when they raised musician O'Neill's flat in November.

Officers discovered nearly 1kg of ketamine, class B drugs with a street value of up to £38,500 in the kitchen, alongside a set of scales and other paraphernalia. Both men were arrested but refused to 'explain what they were doing in the flat or whose flat it was'.

Messages on their phones were found 'clearly relating to drugs', Liverpool Crown Court heard – including texts between the two which referred to 'getting busy and making money', funds which they would split evenly.

O'Neill, from Waterloo, and Tierney, from Walton, also spoke of plans to 'undercut everyone in Warrington' and 'recruiting Warrington lads' to work within their operation.

O'Neill, 31, is a DJ who the court heard has a record deal and a university degree in audio engineering. The court heard he has a total of 14 previous convictions for 25 offences. Simon Christie, defending, said the dad-of-three had endured an 'appalling childhood' and suffered the 'traumatic death of his partner' - while his arrest had been a 'wake up call'.

 

ONeill

O'Neill

 

He added: "There is a great deal of good to be said on behalf of Daniel O'Neill, he has achieved very significant things. Those people who know him find there is another side."

Tierney, 36, has 16 convictions for 28 offences.

Callum Ross, defending, told the court that the father to a six-year-old daughter had been released from prison in April 2022 and began working as a window cleaner. But Tierney then accrued a drug debt from his addiction to ketamine, which resurfaced after his grandma was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

 

Tierney

Tierney

 

Mr Ross said: "He knows only he himself is to blame and plans to use his time in custody wisely."

O'Neill admitted being concerned in the supply of ketamine while Tierney pleaded guilty to possession of ketamine with intent to supply and possession of cocaine. Both were jailed for 30 months.

Sentencing, Recorder Nicola Daley said: "The conversations are consistent with you being involved in a large scale supply business. This is a case which is so serious that only immediate sentences of imprisonment can be justified."

To O'Neill, the judge said: "I hope for your benefit and that of your daughter that you are serious about wanting to put your life back on track - you owe that to your daughter, if nobody else. You had a career ahead of you and you chose to allow drugs to take over."

Recorder Daley Added that Tierney had "begun to take positive steps" while on remand in custody.