A drug gang filled the streets of the North West with cocaine and ketamine using flare messages and Snapchat, advertising working hours of 11am and 11pm. The organised crime group ran the drug line, operating drop-offs in Cheshire and North Wales.
The group was run by Lewis Stenhouse who lived in Fleetwood, with the group also having links to Liverpool, and employed people to supply drugs to users in Cheshire and north Wales.
Ciaran Lavelle, who resided in Chester, would assist with the drugs line and supply drugs at street level. The operation also relied on Jason Bascombe, of Liverpool Road in Huyton, who was a regular controller of the graft phone.
Emily Hetherington, Kim Johnson, Alice Woodhouse and Georgia Palin were all found to be street level drug dealers in the operation. Operation Cliffhanger launched by Cheshire Police in April last year after a bag was found hidden in a bush in Seller Street, Chester, which contained white powder, phones and drug paraphernalia.
The phones were found to have evidence of drug supply and the drugs recovered included up to £11,860 worth of cocaine and £1,760 worth of ketamine. Stenhouse, Bascombe and Lavelle were linked forensically to the drugs packaging.
Lewis Stenhouse, 27, of Chaucer Road, Fleetwood, Lancashire
One document recovered from the bag included a “dealer list”, according to police, which had a blood stain. Analysis found it was that of Stenhouse.
The names of Hetherington, Woodhouse, Johnson and Palin were found in a notebook, linking them to the offences.
The notebook revealed a sophisticated and busy operation with numerous daily sales of cocaine and ketamine by multiple street-level runners who were ebing paid wages and petrol money.
Ciaran Lavelle, 24, of Seller Street, Chester
It was noted that the location of the bushes where the bag was found was within metres of where Lavelle lived and one of the windows of his home looked out directly onto where the drugs were found.
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Officers conducted search warrants at Lavelle’s address in June last year and he was bailed following his arrest.
Kim Johnson, 47, of Padeswood Road North, Buckley, Flintshire
After further enquiries, in October a series of warrants were carried out resulting in the arrests of Bacombe, Hetherington, Woodhouse and Johnson. Palin was arrested in Chester on the same day while Stenhouse was detained at Manchester Airport after returning from holiday.
Lavelle was also re-arrested two weeks later at Manchester Airport after he left the country following his first arrest.
The following individuals were sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Monday 28 September 2026 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and ketamine:
Lewis Stenhouse, 27, of Chaucer Road, Fleetwood, Lancashire, was sentenced to five years and six months.Jason Bascombe, 34, of Liverpool Road, Huyton, was sentenced to five years and four months.Ciaran Lavelle, 24, of Seller Street, Chester, was sentenced to three years.Georgia Palin, 28, of Glynne Street, Queensferry was sentenced to two years suspended for two years.
Georgia Palin, 28, of Glynne Street, Queensferry
The following individuals pleaded guilty to participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group:
Emily Hetherington, 33, of Bron-y-Wern, Bagillt, Flintshire was sentenced to 14 months suspended for two years.Alice Woodhouse, 35, of Glan-yr-afon, Garden City, Flintshire was sentenced to 18 months suspended for two years.Kim Johnson, 47, of Padeswood Road North, Buckley, Flintshire (She also admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine) was sentenced to two years suspended for two years.
Detective Sergeant Roy Wellings said: “Operation Cliffhanger is the culmination of a lengthy investigation by our dedicated officers into the supply of drugs in Chester and North Wales.
Emily Hetherington, 33, of Bron-y-Wern, Bagillt, Flintshire
“Our enquiries clearly linked each defendant to the OCG, either through forensic evidence, phone enquiries, or even through their names being mentioned in drugs-related material which was recovered.
“Thanks to the evidence against them, the defendants were left with no choice but to plead guilty to the offences.
Alice Woodhouse, 35, of Glan-yr-afon, Garden City, Flintshire
“This investigation has also meant thousands of pounds worth of drugs that would have been destined for the streets has been seized.
“Although this operation has seen a number of individuals sentenced for their crimes, our fight against illegal drugs is never over and we would urge anyone with information about drug-related activity to contact us.”