Drug dealer told to pay £55k or stay in prison

A drug dealer who plied his trade on the streets of the borough has been ordered to find more than £50,000 - or face another six months behind bars.
Ishmaille RuudIshmaille Ruud
Ishmaille Ruud

Ishmaille Ruud, 23, is serving a 10-year sentence behind bars after being caught supplying cocaine and heroin in Wigan and having been convicted of gun-running in Leigh as well.

And now he has been told by Judge Richard Gioserano, sitting at Bolton Crown Court, that the estimated profits from his involvement in hard drugs amounts to £55,000.

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Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, if Liverpool-born Ruud does not find the money, he must serve another six months in prison.

Ruud first came to the attention of police in Wigan borough when he broke into a flat in Linden Grove, Leigh, in December 2015.

Bolton Crown Court was told that the property was the home of retired gamekeeper Fred Needham and he kept 10 legally-owned firearms in a locked cabinet there.

One of the pensioner’s neighbours, Amanda Morris, moved in with him and let Rudd into the property.

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Ruud took the weapons, which included a shotgun, pistols and air rifles, while Mr Needham, who has since died, was out at a doctor’s appointment.

The court was told that he stole the guns, which were valued at £9,000 and were never recovered, so they could be sold on the black market.

Rudd was apprehended after a distinctive cap he had been wearing, during the break-in, was identified by a witness and found in his flat.

He was jailed for four years in March 2017, after admitting to a burglary charge, with a judge telling him he was sure the guns were destined for the “criminal underworld”, and would most likely end up in the hands of drug dealers.

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Detectives also examined Ruud’s mobile phone, in the wake of the Leigh burglary, and found evidence he had been heavily involved in heroin and cocaine dealing.

Police searches of his home also uncovered more than £13,000.

He was said to be responsible for controlling and directing street-level dealers.

This led to a second appearance before a judge at Bolton, when he was jailed for a further six years after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine.

Last month Ruud lodged an appeal against the combined effects of his two sentences.

But he was told by law lords that the terms were justified in the circumstances and his case was dismissed.