A terminally-ill newsagent has been unmasked as a £52million drug kingpin likened to the TV drama Breaking Bad.
Michael Williamson, 77, was found to be behind the huge cocaine operation and led a gang which sold more than half a ton of the class A drug over ten years.
In 2019, he was arrested when police raided his home in Salford and his newsagents in Poynton, Cheshire.
Officers found £137,000 worth of cocaine, £33,000 in cash and ‘meticulous records’ of names, deals and debts.
Williamson, who had no previous convictions and never married, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply drugs in January at Bolton Crown Court.
However, his sentence was waived due to his illness and he died earlier this month.
His decision to turn to crime was compared to the popular US series, which sees high school chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, produce and distribute meth after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Judge Clarke said that Williamson, who was not in court, was at the ‘very heart’ of the conspiracy.
Michael Williamson’s decision to turn to crime was compared to the popular US series, which sees high school chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, produce and distribute meth after being diagnosed with terminal cancer
In 2019, Williamson was arrested when police raided his home in Salford and his newsagents in Poynton, Cheshire
Williamson, who had no previous convictions and never married, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply drugs in January at Bolton Crown Court (pictured)
‘There are similarities between Williamson and Breaking Bad,’ a source told the Sun.
‘On the surface, he was a shopkeeper. In reality, he was trading in a very different powder from the lemon sherbet on his shelves.’
In connection with the drug operation, three others admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine last month.
Former rugby league player Payden Candland, 33, was jailed for 19 years and nine months.
While Leo Groves, 33, received 15 years and Ricky Lee, 32, got seven years.
