Casual drug use fuels child murders, ex-Liverpool arms dealer tells LBC

25 August 2022, 07:26

Former Arms Dealer Sicarius McGrath says casual drug use is funding the murder of children

By Rachael Venables

@rachaelvenables

A former arms dealer from Liverpool has told LBC ordinary people's cocaine habits are funding gun violence and the murder of children.

The killing of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in her own home at bedtime has brought sharp focus on the city's links to organised crime groups, and its history of gun violence.

She was the third person shot dead in under a week in the Liverpool.

Sicarius McGrath is a former crime boss who ran brothels and a gun factory, but was determined to turn his life around after watching "Little Boy Blue", the documentary on the murder of Rhys Jones from prison in 2017.

He admits he's responsible for putting "hundreds if not thousands" of guns on the streets - and will never know how much death and misery he's caused.

He's now issued a stark warning to the public, pointing out how casual cocaine-use pays these gangs, and fuels gun crime.

"People need to think twice before they put that gram of cocaine, where's your money going?" he said.

"It's funding these wars, it's funding the murder of children, and innocent people, when you're putting that cocaine up your nose."

Read more: Devastated family pay tribute to 'tiny, cheeky' Olivia, 9, as they warn killer her pictures will 'haunt you' forever

Former Arms dealer tells LBC the vast majority of OCGs have weapons stocked up

He said the majority of gang members have easy access to firearms, with gangs importing them alongside Class A drugs.

"I'm not saying every OCG [organised crime group], but the vast majority of gangs and OCGs and gangs have firearms put away, stored for a rain day or, they'll stock up on weapons.

Read more: 'Postgraduate level' organised crime: A look inside Liverpool's organised crime families run 'like the Sopranos'

"Not saying every one, one gang might have to ring another to sort a firearm because they are quite expensive.

"Some firearms you can pay three, four thousand pound for.

"I remember there was one case where we told people to mind cannabis in a safe but it was actually firearms, so a lot of people are tricked into minding firearms, they don't actually know what they’re minding.

But the gang, the OCG, will give them a firearm and tell them it's a bit of cannabis or money when in actual fact it's a gun and a lot of people are duped into minding weapons. I've done it myself.

"I've not only given young people's mothers, younger people's families, said to them it's cannabis or it's money or it's this or that and in actual fact it was a firearm, and that's what a lot of gangs do, it's common.

"People are more disinclined to mind a firearm… they are quite scary to people, if you say it's a bit of cannabis or money they're going to be more inclined to agree."