Woman slashed 55 miles from Merseyside led police to 'Boris line'

A Merseyside gang that ran the "Boris" drugs line slashed a terrified woman in the face and forced a vulnerable teenager to sell drugs to their mum. Sickening gang bosses Adam Mcardle, formerly of Pemberton Road in Old Swan, and brother James and Josh Mason terrorised the market town of Oswestry in Shropshire between July 2018 and February 2020 by exploiting vulnerable youngsters to sell crack cocaine and heroin.

The Merseyside men set up the Boris line between the north west and the Shropshire town, taking an active role in travelling between the two locations to source and supply the drugs. The three leaders of the gang enjoyed a lavish lifestyle funded by their crimes, but left a trail of misery and terror on the streets.

They enforced fear with ruthless aggression, attacking vulnerable drug users who owed debts and recruiting children - some as young as 14 and many of them known to social services - as runners. But their illicit business was finally unravelled by West Mercia Police after the home of James Mason was raided and the Boris line phone was seized.

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To coincide with the release of a new video released by the police force about their investigation, the ECHO has taken a look back at the ruthless gang that wreaked havoc and left a sickening trail of fear in its wake. West Mercia Police said on January 7 2019 a woman was lured to a location in Oswestry and subjected to a vicious attack which left her with life changing facial injuries.

This wasn’t a random attack - the then 31-year-old woman had been lured there by the enforcer of a drugs gang because she owed a £500 debt. The gang wanted to show what would happen to other drug users in Oswestry if they did not pay their debts on time.

As a direct response to the heinous attack, West Mercia Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) set out to dismantle the group responsible. Following intelligence work, officers were able to identify the gang responsible were not local but instead were a Merseyside-based gang who were pumping class A drugs into Oswestry through a phone nicknamed the Boris line.

The gang had spent time building relationships with adult drug users and young people in Oswestry, who they persuaded to sell drugs on their behalf. They also identified vulnerable young people that they could exploit and traffic around Oswestry to do their bidding.

On one occasion, a vulnerable young person they were exploiting was forced to sell drugs to their mum. The police said officers, in collaboration with the local council and social services, came to understand which of the young dealers were being exploited and needed safeguarding from the gang.

The SOCU developed a case against the leaders of the gang and in February 2019 officers arrested two of the dealers working on the line to learn more about how it operated. On July 11 2019, officers from SOCU travelled up to Merseyside and, with the support of the local force, raided addresses which resulted in the arrests of seven people including two of the gang's leaders - brothers James and Josh Mason.

Following a search of the property, officers found the Boris line mobile phone under the sofa. They also found a large amount of cash, drugs and the receipt for a Rolex watch worth over £4,500.

Just hours later, and after hearing about the arrests of his two partners, third leader of the gang Mcardle re-established the drugs line and continued to sell drugs in Oswestry in a desperate attempt to keep a hold of his illegal activities.

He, as well as others, were later arrested. The three leaders of the gang pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin, crack cocaine and modern-day slavery offences. Mcardle was also convicted for the attack on the female in Oswestry. In August last year, James Mason was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and Joshua was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

However, two months later the Court of Appeal increased the sentence for both brothers after the Solicitor General referred them under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. Former Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC said: "There is no doubt that class A drug use has a devastating impact on local communities and the young age of some of the people recruited to act as runners for this gang makes this case even more appalling.

"Thankfully, the court recognised the damage caused by these brothers and they have been ordered to spend longer in jail. I hope this case serves as a strong warning that those responsible for distributing hard drugs on our streets will be punished." Mcardle received a life sentence with a minimum term of eight-and-a-half years for his role in the gang. You can watch the video into how West Mercia took down the Boris line gang here.