Kieran McKechnie became involved with the line when dealers threatened to burn his mum’s house down
Kieran McKechnie, of Anders Drive in Kirkby, aged 37(Image: Merseyside Police)
A dad began working for the “Lil T” drugs line when dealers threatened to burn his mum’s house down. Kieran McKechnie was allegedly made to supply heroin and crack cocaine on behalf of the operation, selling to around a dozen customers a day, after racking up a debt of more than £1,000 as a result of his own habit.
But his involvement in the scheme was rumbled after police stopped his car and found an incriminating mobile phone sitting in his lap. While he now says he is clean of drugs and “not even vaping”, he was left shaking his head he was locked up today.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Monday, that McKechnie, of Anders Drive in Kirkby, was seen driving in the Manchester Road area of Southport at around midday on February 10 this year when a female passenger exited the car and approached a house before returning to the vehicle. With officers having suspected a drugs transaction had taken place, this led to the 37-year-old being stopped in a nearby car park.
While the woman was not ultimately detained, Iain Criddle, prosecuting, described how McKechnie was found with a phone in his lap in the driver’s seat, with the device having “belonged to a drugs line known as the ‘Lil T’ line”. This had seen messages offering heroin and crack cocaine for sale to a total of 106 recipients over the previous 10 days.
McKechnie, who was also found in possession of £275 cash upon his arrest, was said to have manned the phone for five of these days, when there were said to have been “approximately 10 to 12 drug drops on each day”. He went on to claim in a basis of plea, which was accepted by the prosecution, that he had accrued a £1,300 debt through his own cocaine use and was put to work after those to who he owed money threatened to burn his mum’s house down.
His criminal record shows a total of 14 prior convictions for 28 offences. While these does not include any earlier appearances for drug matters, he was previously jailed for 14 months for dangerous driving and given prison terms for assault occasioning actual bodily harm in both 2021 and 2023.
McKechnie was also handed a 12-week imprisonment suspended for eight months for assault in July 2024, a sentence which expired less than three weeks before the commission of his latest crimes. Charles Lander, defending, told the court: “He now appears for sentence having spent three months in custody.
“It is accepted that it is a matter of days. The court will see many far more serious involvements in relation to graft phones and the like. This court knows all too well seriousness of this offending, and Mr McKechnie knows that because he is a drug user himself.
“If it wasn’t for being threatened with his home being burned, and he had previously been assaulted, that is why those people above him use people like Mr McKechnie. That is why he found himself in a position where the only way out was assisting these people. He recognises, ultimately, that he has brought this upon himself.
“He has had three months away from his 14-year-old daughter, someone who he has regular care and responsibility for.
“Also, through these three months, his mother, who he is a carer for, has been hospitalised and had an operation. When she has been in hospital, the doctors have discovered other issues which give real concern as to her long term future. Again, the defendant has been absent from supporting her.
“This period in custody has particularly hit him hard. There is a potential job, working for a drilling company. This is a defendant who was successfully going through rehab. He attended a rehab in August 2025. He tells me that he was there on that rehab for four months, primarily due to the alcohol addictions he had. Coming out of rehab brought issues at the family home, which led him to use more cocaine.
“He was telling me that, not only is he testing negatively in custody, he is not even vaping. He really has stayed away from drugs and trouble in custody. He has a background of mental health, but tells me that he has had a positive mindset. Here is someone who has utilised his time. He says that he is now too old for being in prison and realises the error of his ways.”
McKechnie admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he sighed and shook his head as he was jailed for two years.
Sentencing, Recorder Mark Bradshaw said: “There were approximately 10 to 12 drug drops each day. It was not the largest operation the court has seen, but, nevertheless, a significant operation.
“You did have an operational function and some idea of the size of the operation, as you were sending the messages. Ultimately, you were acting for others to pay off your drug debt.
“While you do not have any relevant convictions in the sense that you do not have any previous drug convictions, I consider that your convictions are relevant as they show that you have been a persistent offender. I take into account how you feel about not being able be around for your mother after her surgery and all that she is now encountering, and the anxiety you feel in relation to your daughter. I take into account the prospect of work in the construction industry and your past history of poor mental health.
“The scourge of drug dealing causes misery to families and communities. You have contributed to that by way of your offending. I take the view, regrettably, that I cannot suspend the sentence in your case. You very quickly went on to offend again by way of these offences. I also take the view the appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.”