Mum of infamous drug vendor caught red-handed sitting on mattress subsequent to large pile of money

Ian Shacklady and Gillian Melville’s home was raided by police, who found nearly half a million pounds in cash – but it was just a small portion of what was actually involved in the trafficking of drugs

A drug dealer’s mum was nabbed “red handed” by the cops, perched on a bed next to a wad of cash. But this was merely “just the tip” of an £11million “iceberg” after police stormed the home of Ian Shacklady and Gillian Melville.

The National Crime Agency’s sleuthing later uncovered that her son Alan Causer was the kingpin of a mob trafficking hefty amounts of heroin and cocaine across the nation, leading to his crew being sentenced to over 50 years combined. Their case resurfaced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

Prosecutor Henry Riding laid out how Causer had raked in a whopping £11,182,460 from his criminal escapades. Yet, the only loot available for confiscation now is a measly £3,730 found on him at the time of his arrest.

Judge Denis Watson KC thus slapped an order for this amount, but gave Merseyside Police the green light to snatch any future fortunes up to the full £11 million. As for Shacklady, he’s pegged with a benefit figure of £1,245,000, but with no assets to hand, he got off with a symbolic £1 order, which the court considers settled.

John Germaine, a fourth defendant in the case, was reported to have raked in an astonishing £12,349,684.60 from the scheme, while co-accused Daniel Healey pocketed £745,020.74. Like Shacklady, nominal £1 orders were made against them as they too were found to have no realisable assets, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The ECHO revealed last April that a joint investigation by the NCA and Merseyside Police led to a raid on Shacklady and Melville’s home on Marchbank Road in Skelmersdale on 15 September 2021. Shacklady was at the property during the search, while his partner was discovered “sitting in a bed in one of the bedrooms with neatly stacked piles of cash on the bed to one side of her”.

Mr Riding described the 66-year-old woman as being “caught red handed” with “multiple bags containing large quantities of cash on the floor at her feet” and several elastic bands on her other side. A total of £481,375 was seized from “various locations” around the house.

Germaine’s fingerprints were found on several of these cash bags. It was later discovered that Shacklady had sent him a message five-and-a-half hours before the raid, saying: “John, can you pick some elastic bands up? I haven’t got any left. Thanks.”

Four kilos of cannabis with a street value of £40,000 were also nabbed, along with two “ledgers” – described as a “meticulous record of their drug dealing activities” which were “consistent with the supply and distribution of at least 360kg of cocaine and 25kg of heroin”, as well as the movement of more than £1.4million in cash over the previous few months.

Causer’s fingerprints were found on these books, with Mr Riding stating: “They indicated that the half a million pounds recovered from Mr Shacklady and Ms Melville’s house was, if not just the tip of an iceberg, only a small proportion of the monies generated by the activities of this organised crime group.”

When officers searched Shacklady’s white Peugeot Partner van, parked across the street, they discovered a “fairly sophisticated system” installed within the rear of the vehicle below the floorboards.

This consisted of a hidden switch revealing a secret compartment for stashing illicit goods. Automatic number plate recognition cameras meanwhile captured the van “travelling all over the north of England”.

This included trips to Huyton, Manchester, Grimsby, Derby, Nottingham and the Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland and Darlington areas of County Durham.

On September 28, 2021, police discovered 9kg of “high purity” cocaine in Germaine’s storage unit on Ringtail Road in Burscough. The 35-year-old, from Holt Drive in Ormskirk, was previously handed a sentence of nine years and two months in May 2022 after being found guilty of possession of class A drugs and cannabis with intent to supply, as well as possession of criminal property.

Heeley was identified through surveillance carried out during the operation. The 31-year-old, known as “Morc” in the gang’s ledgers – a nod to the Morecambe area where he was based and kept a safehouse – resided at Rylstone Drive in Heysham, Lancashire.

He used three different phone numbers between May and September 2021, making 394 calls totalling nearly six hours and 45 minutes to Shacklady, Causer and Germaine. It was revealed that Heeley was supplied with class A drugs in wholesale, kilogram amounts by his co-conspirators, with the same van making 14 trips to the seaside town.

When Germaine was questioned, he kicked off by saying ‘I knew this was coming’. He confessed to being in debt “to the tune of several thousands pounds to persons in Liverpool connected with someone whose jaw he had broken in a fight in a nightclub” and then “began making drug and cash runs” around May 2021.

Each run earned him £150 and saw him travel as far as Portsmouth. The so-called “Leading light” Causer, from Sherrat Street in Skelmersdale, gave no comment to detectives.

When his mum was interviewed, she claimed none of the seized cash was hers – except for £6,000 found in her handbag and £11,400 in another bag, which she described as her “life savings”. Healey told police he frequently changed his phone number due to his rocky relationship with his wife, who was “jealous that he was seeing a girlfriend”.

Shacklady pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, possession of criminal property, and possession of cannabis, and was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison. Germaine and Causer admitted to conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine and possession of criminal property, receiving sentences of 11 years and eight months and 18 years respectively.

Heeley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine and was jailed for 15 years and three months. Melville admitted to possession of criminal property and received a 23-month suspended sentence, a rehabilitation requirement, and a 12-month mental health treatment order.

Judge Watson stated during sentencing: “This was a very active and high volume business that was being run as a business focussing on the supply of high quality cocaine, and on occasion heroin as well. It supplied to a wide variety of geographical locations.

“This business had been flourishing over a period of three-and-a-half months. The quantities in the ledgers demonstrate that this was a major operation, even by the scale of recent EncroChat cases.”

Amid emotional scenes in court, Causer embraced his mother with a hug and kiss in the dock before he was taken down to the cells. He also bade goodbye to friends and family in the public gallery, saying: “See yous soon.”