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‘Scouse Nay’ trader says ‘see you this year’ as judge jails him

‘Scouse Nay’ trader says ‘see you this year’ as judge jails him

The cocaine dealer was allegedly put to work in the ‘Scouse Nay’ drugs network after being held responsible for the loss of £4,000 in cash.

Ryan Finlay
Ryan Finlay(Image: Merseyside Police)

A drug dealer laughed and told his family “see you this year” upon learning how much time he will spend in prison. Ryan Finlay was caught up in an operation smuggling cocaine from Merseyside to Scotland just a day after walking free from court on a dangerous driving offence.

He was allegedly put to work in the county gang “Scouse Nay” after being held responsible for the seizure of £4,000 in cash by police. The bribed phone used by Class A Ring was later found in his girlfriend’s pocket when officers knocked on her door.

Liverpool Crown Court Heard yesterday Thursday that Finlay received a 10-month prison sentence suspended for two years on August 30, 2024 after admitting dangerous driving. This came just one day before the 29-year-old man’s involvement in the drug plot was said to have begun, according to the charge sheets.

Christopher Taylor, prosecuting, described how an investigation into “Scouse Nay” county line, a Merseyside-based operation which began selling cocaine in the Inverness area around April 2023, subsequently led to officers carrying out a search warrant at his home on Parbrook Road in huyton in October of last year. The phone used to sell drugs to customers was located inside Finlay’s girlfriend’s pocket during this raid.

It was later discovered that this device frequently had cell phones located at its address. He is also said to have once sent a package to the Scottish city from the Page Moss Avenue post office.

Finlay claims he was tasked with running the Scouse Nay bribery phone after he was arrested north of the border in early 2023 in possession of £4,000 in cash that did not belong to him. He was then allegedly held responsible for this seizure, but was unable to pay off the debt.

The accused also testified that on one occasion an unknown man took him to Inverness to collect a sum of cash. Finlay has a total of 17 previous convictions for 21 offences, including being locked up for three years for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine at Preston Crown Court in 2016.

Christopher Stables, defending, told the court: “What is clear is that the line had been operating on many different telephones prior to this defendant’s involvement. However, the defendant accepts that he was operating the line, in the sense of that “I was physically in possession of the phone and did so on a daily basis. “The defendant has several health problems and, as is often the case, he himself was using cocaine at the time.”

Finlay pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Asked if he admitted breaching his suspended sentence order, he replied: “If you say so.”

He appeared in court wearing a turquoise Nike t-shirt and was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Sentencing, Judge Simon Medland KC said: “There are periods of time when one is quite capable of leading a simple, sensible and law-abiding life.

“The times when you are not able to do that are times when you are involved in drugs. There will come a time, sooner or later, when you will realize that drugs destroy lives.

“Your involvement in class A drugs is the reason you are where you are today and why you were sent down last time. You have to think about that. Inevitably the sentences will get longer and longer.”

Finlay reacted to his sentence by putting his head in his hands before saying “thank you very much”, adding to his followers in the public gallery: “See you all this year. I love you.”

He was then heard loudly saying “ha ha” as he was led to the cells. Addressing Mr Stables, Judge Medland said: “Human nature is what it is.”