A phlebotomist who used his award-winning health and wellness clinic as an underworld drop for organised crime gangs has been spared jail. John Lyons, 40, allowed gangsters to store cocaine at his cryotherapy spa business after getting into debt himself due to a secret drug habit.
Public image vs private reality
In public, the father of three was often seen on social media helping local sports stars recover from injury. He would show off a cryotherapy chamber in which clients would allow their bodies to be subject to extreme sub-zero temperatures to reduce inflammation and swelling. His clinic, Elements Cryo Spa in Warrington, Cheshire, was voted the best health and wellbeing facility in the 2024 North West business awards. Lyons was also the brains behind a blood testing laboratory set up in the same year in the Victoria Park area of Warrington.
However, in private, Lyons was fielding increasingly threatening demands for payment from gangland enforcers using the private messaging app Zangi. To help clear his debts, the former removals man agreed to look the other way whilst illicit packages of drugs were dropped at the spa by traffickers before being collected by street dealers for onward sale.
Police raid uncovers cocaine
The truth emerged when police raided the clinic on March 7 last year following intelligence that the premises was being used as a base to deal class A drugs. Officers subsequently found 93.24 grams of cocaine in a plastic bag with a potential street value of nearly £10,000 plus £600 cash and snap bags. When quizzed, Lyons, who has previous convictions for drugs offences, said: 'I am really on my f**ing arse at the moment.'
At Chester Crown Court he faced up to four and a half years in jail under sentencing guidelines after he admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply. But he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years after a judge said prison would have a 'very significant impact' on his family.
Court details
Earlier, prosecutor Miss Olivia Randall said: 'Police executed a warrant at Elements Cryo Spa, due to intelligence that class A drugs were being dealt from the location. The defendant was present and appeared nervous and was stuttering. His response when police advised that they would be searching the address tried to allege there was another business upstairs. But he then said, 'You will find something that I am holding for somebody. It is upstairs in a cupboard. It is cocaine and I am just holding it.'
His phone was later downloaded and on it were found messages consistent with offering cocaine for sale. In interview, he admitted dealing with drugs but advised that this was due to debts and threats towards him, his home and his family. In a basis of plea Lyons said he had been struggling following the 2008 financial crisis and had borrowed heavily to pay bills. To raise further funds he allowed packages to be dropped at his business to be collected.
'He realised that they were drugs,' Miss Randall said, 'He said he would be held responsible for an unauthorised exchange or loss of a package and was told he would owe money for lost drugs. He has also run up a drug debt of his own and received threats over Zangi. He took the threats seriously and therefore started to sell drugs to raise funds. He had significant debts, to banks, utilities, mortgage arrears and credit cards.'
Previous convictions and sentencing
The court heard Lyons had previously been locked up aged 19 in 2005 after being convicted of possessing MDMA with intent to supply and possession of cocaine. He was further convicted of cocaine possession in 2012. His counsel Tyrone Belger said: 'There are longstanding issues in relation to his mental health and there are client references from people he has helped - not just through treatment. The justice of the case could be met by not imposing an immediate sentence.'
Lyons, of Firth Boulevard, Warrington, was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity and participate with a 12-month mental health treatment requirement. He faces a Proceeds of Crime hearing in October. In sentencing, Judge Patrick Thompson told him: 'You knew what you were doing and knew the people you were getting involved with. It is very unusual certainly in this court for anyone to receive anything other than an immediate custodial sentence for trafficking class A drugs. But you have strong personal mitigation and immediate custody would have a very significant impact on others in particular, your family.'
He added: 'Of course people trafficking class A drugs can make a large amount of money. But when they get caught the consequences can be disastrous. Make this the last time you are before the court.'
