31 August 2024 , 15:14
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Notorious Merseyside drug trafficker Curtis Warren has been given a suspended prison sentence after admitting breaches of his Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO).
Warren, aged 61, was released from prison in November 2022 after serving a 13-year sentence for drug smuggling offences.
Upon his release he became subject to the SCPO, which placed limits on his use of phones, email accounts and vehicles for five years. Restrictions were also imposed on his financial arrangements and travel.
Compliance with the order was monitored by the National Crime Agency’s Lifetime Offender Management team.
In July 2023 NCA officers arrested Warren at a property in South Tyneside, where he was staying at the time, on suspicion of multiple breaches of his order.
This included operating bank accounts and using a vehicle which he hadn’t declared to the NCA, as well as failing to notify the Agency of travel to Spain and a change of address.
Following his arrest officers also found a mobile phone in his possession that he hadn’t declared, and £1,500 in cash, in excess of what he was allowed to possess as per the order.
He was charged the following November with 11 counts of breaching the order. A further seven charges followed in February 2024.
At a hearing on Tuesday 27 August at Liverpool Crown Court Warren admitted six breaches of the SCPO which related to his use of communications devices, finances, income, vehicles, travel and place of residence. The remaining charges against him were left on file.
He was sentenced to a 14-month jail term, suspended for 18 months.
Head of the NCA’s Prisons and Lifetime Management Unit Alison Abbott said: “Curtis Warren treated his order with contempt, breaching it within days of his release from prison, and going on to breach it multiple times.
“Serious Crime Prevention Orders are a powerful tool to help prevent those convicted of serious offences continue their criminality when they come out of prison.
“This case should serve as a warning to others. As we did with Warren, we will actively monitor all those who are subject to such orders, and they will stay on our radar even after they are released from jail.”