Liverpool, UK — Notorious drug dealer Craig O’Donohue, 39, has once again been jailed for possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply, just months after being released from a previous prison sentence.
O’Donohue, from Curate Road, Anfield, was caught dealing drugs on Dale Street in Liverpool city centre on May 16, 2024, following a tip-off from CCTV operators. Police responded quickly, stopping a Mercedes suspected to be involved in the operation. O’Donohue, a passenger, was located inside a nearby William Hill betting shop.
At Liverpool Crown Court on August 20, 2025, prosecutor David Watson said that a search of the car revealed 30 wraps of crack cocaine, estimated to be worth £300, hidden under the driver’s seat. Cannabis was also found in the passenger door, while eight heroin wraps and six more crack wraps were recovered from O’Donohue himself, along with £352 in cash and a burner phone filled with drug-related messages.
The court was reminded of O’Donohue’s extensive criminal history, which includes 21 previous convictions for 40 offences, including repeated class A drug offences and a £100,000 fake Liverpool FC ticket scam in 2015 that duped fans worldwide.
Despite being eligible for a mandatory minimum seven-year sentence under the “three strikes” law, O’Donohue was again spared the full term. His defence, Julian Nutter, argued that O’Donohue had been a long-time addict in debt, exploited by others, and was actively seeking rehabilitation. He had enrolled in a drug recovery program and was involved in training for railway services in hopes of turning his life around.
Judge Charlotte Crangle, while acknowledging the societal harm caused by class A drugs, said:
“You know too well the misery these drugs cause… those who deal in class A drugs get longer and longer sentences because they continue supplying their misery.”
However, considering his efforts to reform, she emphasized the need for both punishment and rehabilitation, sentencing O’Donohue to four years and five months in prison.
