TWO drug dealers who were part of a gang that flooded the streets of a Cheshire town with more than £1 million of drugs will not have to pay a penny back.

Jack Murphy was jailed for three years in March for conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine while Anthony Westhead was jailed for nine years for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

Murphy, 19, and Westhead, 45, were part of the ‘largest county lines operation’ in Cheshire Police’s history which brought down 11 separate gangs responsible for supplying up to 11kg of heroin and crack cocaine over the span of 11 months.

The cases of Murphy and Westhead appeared back before Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

In their absence, judge Anil Murray decided that neither of the men would have to pay a single penny back as the court heard that Westwood in particular is a ‘man with no means’.

A surcharge and collection order was made for both defendants.

And the deprivation and destruction of any mobile phones and drugs seized from the pair has been ordered.

At the time of the sentencing in March, a police source said: “There is often a lot of violence associated with county lines but, during our investigation, we didn’t see much violence between the county lines.

“We didn’t see much fighting amongst themselves or a turf war, they appeared to be co-existing.

“One day they might have somebody from one team in a part of Warrington, then the next day it was someone from another team.

“Looking from the outside in, it was almost like they had an arrangement as to who operated where and when.

“They were actually very polite to each other, which you don’t normally get.”

But, for the constabulary’s serious and organised crime unit, the work continues.

The force insider added: “It’s an unusually high number of convictions, and it reflects the length of the operation and the volume of county lines operating in Warrington during that period.

“It’s often these more established county lines which are harder for local policing units to tackle.

“In taking out the longer established lines, it does provide a new opportunity for local policing teams to tackle the inevitable attempts to backfill.

“It’s certainly not a case of we’ve done our bit, well done us.

“We’re part of a bigger picture of making Cheshire hostile to organised crime.”