A bloke has been jailed after forcing children to sell drugs and collect money.
Arron Kenny of Ashton Old Road, Manchester, was sentenced to 11 years behind bars at Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday following a lengthy investigation. The court heard how Kenny used threats of violence to manipulate children into dealing drugs for him, as revealed in Greater Manchester Police’s Operation Charger.
This operation, which ran from 2019 to 2021, focused on the supply of Class A and B drugs within the Tameside area. Kenny was the mastermind behind the ‘Sam N Marco’ or ‘SNM’ drug line, overseeing the supply, cultivation and transportation of drugs.
He also exploited children to assist in the drug trade, including holding the drugs, the drug line mobile phone and collecting the money. Kenny, who initially got nicked in 2021 before briefly vanishing, was nabbed again in December of the same year.
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He was found holed up in a city centre flat, relying on a driver to ferry him around for his drug deals due to two broken legs… although how he ended up with two broken legs was not made public.
Sergeant Matthew Elliot of our Child Criminal Exploitation Team in Tameside, said: “Using violence or the fear of violence to get the vulnerable in our communities to do deal their drugs is bad enough, but to use a child is just unforgiveable.
“As a force, we are committed to protecting the children in our town and we are hopeful that this result allows the victims to put the experience behind them and allows them to live as the children they are.
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“This was a complex and challenging investigation with a lot of moving parts and I would to thank members of both the Challenger and CCE teams who were committed to achieving justice in this matter.
“We will continue to work to take drugs off our city’s streets and to prevent children from being coerced into doing something they don’t want to do.”
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