Four people were arrested following a two-year investigation targeting a drug supply ringMoment man is arrested in a dressing gown
This is the moment Bradley Roberts was arrested in his dressing gown as police swooped to dismantle a drugs network linked to more than £200,000 worth of illegal substances.
Footage shows officers detaining the 25-year-old at his home as part of a series of coordinated arrests following a lengthy undercover investigation by Merseyside Police. As he is told he is under arrest, Roberts asks an officer: “What for?” The video also captures officers seizing bundles of cash from inside the property.
The arrests formed part of Operation Goodfellow, a two-year investigation targeting a drug supply ring headed by Taylor McArthur, known as “Billy the Kid”.
Detectives used covert surveillance, phone analysis and vehicle tracking to build their case.
Roberts was arrested days after police raided an industrial unit he had rented in Melling.
Bradley Roberts, of St Andrews Close in Maghull, aged 25
Inside, officers discovered a huge haul including 301kg of ketamine, three firearms – among them a Skorpion submachine gun – and ammunition.
McArthur was later arrested at his home and again at his waterfront apartment at the Tobacco Warehouse, where police found cannabis resin branded with the Everton FC badge.
When officers moved in on December 19, 2024, he admitted there was a “large quantity” of drugs inside one of the bedrooms.
His half-brother, Thomas Mee, was also detained after being stopped by police while driving. Earlier surveillance had captured him making a series of short stops in his car consistent with street-level dealing.
Kerry Grice, of Archer Close, aged 49
Meanwhile, Kerry Grice was arrested after officers executed a warrant at her home in Kirkdale. The 49-year-old allowed her home to be used as a “safehouse in which to store drugs” and “acted as a warehouseperson, facilitating the collection and supply of drugs and cash”.
She admitted drugs were stored in a back room, leading police to uncover significant quantities of ketamine and cannabis, along with thousands of pounds in cash.
All four later appeared at Liverpool Crown Court, where McArthur was jailed for 10 years and 10 months. Grice was sentenced to three years and nine months, Mee to three years, and Roberts to 27 months.
Taylor McArthur, of Regent Road, aged 25
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: “It is important to begin with what is obvious, but bears repeating. The misuse of cannabis, ketamine and cocaine causes devastation to the people who take them and the families who try their best to support them.
“They blight the communities in which addicts live and dealers operate.
“As is seen in this case, organised crime gangs have access to a cache of lethal firearms and ammunition.
“As recent cases have shown to chilling effect, weapons of this type have been used in targeted incidents and indiscriminately fired at people who have been killed after being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Thomas Mee, of Dovecot Avenue, aged 30
“Society must pick up the human and other costs of this trade. I note that the widespread use of ketamine is an increasing problem on Merseyside which is literally corrosive to the bodies of those who take it.
“For those who think that cannabis is a benign lifestyle choice, think again.
“Long term misuse exacerbates mental health issues. It is itself a pathway to criminal activity that can lead users to deal both class A and B drugs.”
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