A DYING newsagent was found to be a drug kingpin — just like TV drama Breaking Bad.
Terminally ill Michael Williamson masterminded the sale of cocaine worth up to £52million.
Matthew PoverThe newsagent run by terminally ill drug kingpin Michael Williamson[/caption]
His decision to turn to crime has been likened to the hit US series in which chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, starts producing and distributing meth after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Williamson, 77, led a gang which sold more than half a ton of cocaine over ten years.
He was arrested in 2019 when cops raided his home in Salford and newsagents shop in Poynton, Cheshire.
They found cocaine worth £137,000, £33,000 in cash and notebooks with “meticulous records” of names, deals and debts.
Williamson, who had no previous convictions and never married, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply drugs in January at Bolton crown court.
His sentence was waived because of his illness and he died earlier this month.
Last month, three others admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Former rugby league player Payden Candland, 33, got 19 years, nine months, Leo Groves, 33, got 15 years and Ricky Lee, 32, seven years.
Sentencing them, His Honour Judge Clarke said the absent Williamson was at the “very heart” of the conspiracy.
A source said: “There are similarities between Williamson and Breaking Bad.
“On the surface, he was a shopkeeper. In reality, he was trading in a very different powder from the lemon sherbet on his shelves.”
Terminally ill Williamson masterminded the sale of cocaine worth up to £52million – in a plot with echoes of Breaking Bad character Walter WhiteAlamy Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
