A drug baron jailed for his role in a £20m cocaine plot has been banned from driving for 36 months after being caught drink-driving. Jamie 'Alvin' Oldroyd, 36, appeared at Chester Magistrates' Court on Monday, August 10, where he pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified, using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance, failing to provide a specimen for analysis and breaching a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
Court appearance seven years after 17-year sentence
Oldroyd, of Albury Close in Warrington, was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2019. His criminal operation came to light when his lieutenant, Jamie Simpson, was caught with £20m worth of cocaine on the M6. Oldroyd had used his car rental business as a front for his drug operation, which supplied huge amounts of cocaine across the north.
During a 14-month investigation, detectives saw Oldroyd driving 17 different vehicles, which his car lease firm explained. In a homemade film, he was captured surrounded by cash that needed counting machines to total it up. The profits were significant, sourced from powerful underworld figures in the north west, including on Merseyside, and distributed to gangs from Manchester to London, Carlisle to Darlington.
Arrest in Warrington
Despite his lengthy sentence, Oldroyd was back on the streets before Cheshire Police received a report of a drink driver in the Bridge Street area of Warrington in the early hours of Saturday, August 1. The officer responding found Oldroyd behind the wheel of a silver Land Rover Defender who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. A roadside test found him to be over the limit before he was arrested.
It was also uncovered after his arrest that he was already disqualified from driving and was not insured to drive. While in custody, Oldroyd was asked to provide a sample but refused. As police conducted their enquiries, officers found he was under the terms of a serious crime prevention order (SCPO) which ordered him to tell police of any vehicles he owned which he hadn't.
Sentencing and impact
Oldroyd was further arrested before being interviewed when he openly admitted to drinking and getting behind the wheel of the car. He added he had not been using the car and had been spending a considerable amount of money on taxis. He went on to say he recognised what he had done was wrong and that the breach of the SCPO would seriously impact him moving forward.
As part of his sentencing, he was also required to complete 10 days of unpaid work and ordered to complete a 90-day alcohol abstention programme. PC Sam Emmitt, of the Northern Area Investigation Team, said: "Serious Crime Prevention Orders are put in place to deter individuals from reoffending – this is clearly something Mr Oldroyd did not understand when he purchased his Land Rover and failed to notify us of its existence. It was this decision, paired with then choosing to have a drink and getting behind the wheel to do laps of the town centre, that has landed him unable to drive for a further three years."
