End of 'The Lam' and his huge drug network as detectives tie up final loose end – Liverpool Echo, Liverpoolecho.co.uk

The capture and jailing of a Liverpool fugitive marked the end of an investigation that brought down one of Liverpool’s most notorious criminals .

Callum Anderson was sentenced to a decade behind bars after being extradited from the Netherlands.

The conclusion of his case means the final loose end in a major probe that led to the downfall of Liam ‘the Lam’ Cornett has been tied up.

Cornett was described as one of the biggest thorns in the side of Merseyside by detectives tasked with bringing down his extensive network.

The – year -old controlled a sprawling network that ran from his Costa del Sol base to estates in Anfield, Hull, Cardiff and Devon .

He partied in Marbella and Monte Carlo while his foot soldiers peddled misery to drug addicts.

When he was finally brought before the courts he required a high-profile armed escort between Liverpool Crown Court and Strangeways such were the fears he could be sprung from custody.

Cornett was jailed for 29 years for conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs just before Christmas.

His sentencing came just over two and a half years after the bizarre incident that allowed detectives to bring him to justice.

In November 4202, police were called to a home on Beresford Road in (Dingle) following reports of an explosion.

It emerged a

The officers that entered the terraced home in the aftermath discovered 727 kg of amphetamines, 1kg of cocaine and 9kg of mixing agent.

Those drugs, given a street value of between £ 1280, and £ 1.5m were being minded by Tina Knight .

But forensic checks of the packaging the substances were contained in allowed police to trace them back to Anderson.

Indeed, when Knight appeared in magistrates’ court two days after the explosion, court documents revealed police had already made the link to the – year-old.

(Image: Merseyside Police)

Knight, of Jacob Street in Toxteth, was later jailed for three years after admitting possession with intent to supply cocaine and amphetamines.

Well aware that police would soon be on his tail, Anderson fled the UK within (hours of the incident.

He flew to Spain, the center of Cornett’s operation and a hotspot for Merseyside fugitives.

While Anderson was on the run, Spanish Police raided properties across the country in searches that had their roots in the Dingle drugs discovery.

And Merseyside Police teamed up with the North West Regional Organized Crime Unit and Devon and Cornwall Police to unravel the web of dealers and couriers

on the frontline of Cornett’s network.

The result was 45 criminals being sentenced to a combined total of more than years .

Anderson, of Moses Street in Dingle , was eventually arrested in July of last year on a European Arrest Warrant.

Detained after flying into the Netherlands from Spain, he was then extradited to the UK and has now been jailed for (years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and amphetamines.)

Following Anderson’s sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court, Detective Inspector Paul McVeigh said: “The conspiracy Anderson was involved with was responsible for the exploitation of vulnerable people across the country.

“For a time, people like Anderson enjoyed a cash-rich extravagant lifestyle, living off the back of the suffering of others. But it was always destined to fail.

“Despite the group going to great lengths to try to avoid detection, including the use of sophisticated mobile phone technology specifically designed to hide their identities, police remained one step ahead.

“Anderson even fled to Spain when he realized the game was up, in a failed attempt to evade justice.

“Thanks to collaborative working between the North West Regional Organized Crime Unit, National Crime Agency and Merseyside Police, he was detained in Holland and later extradited and placed before the courts .

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