A Heinz factory worker, who had also worked as a tree surgeon and in waste management, was arrested and jailed for three years after police discovered his other source of income
Police discovered a Heinz factory worker “took too many drugs” and had another way of making money, which ended with him locked up behind bars.
Cory Liptrot, 22, had been a part-time tree surgeon, factory worker and worked in waste management, but it was another position that got him into trouble with the law. The man “fell into the wrong crowd” and went from a “weekend user” to a supplier of heroin and crack cocaine.
A Merseyside Police investigation into county lines drug supply identified the 22-year-old as being the “controller” of an operation involved in the sales of drugs, a court heard.
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Officers executed a search warrant at his nan’s home, where Liptrot lived, and they discovered a bullet inside a jar in a rucksack but he falsely claim that this ammunition was a “replica”, Liverpool Crown Court heard. Cops discovered it was a S&B branded 9mm round associated with self-loading pistols, which was said to have been in a “poor condition” but was successfully test fired.
Gerry Baxter, prosecuting, described how the man was not home at the time, but a search of his bedroom revealed two Nokia mobile phones which had been used to send out “bulk texts” advertising drugs for sale, during September and October of 2025. A total of 7,074 messages were sent from just one of these devices, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Liptrot, from Wigan, was then arrested on January 31, 2026, at his partner’s home, stating under interview that the bullet was a “replica” and claiming that a quantity of white powder discovered during the search was creatine. Mr Baxter added of the ammunition: “There is no evidence that the defendant was intending to use it. It is difficult to say that there could be such an intention when there was no weapon present.”
Charles Lander, defending, told the court on Liptrot’s behalf: “As your honour has heard, he has no previous convictions. He is still a young man at 22. The court may accept that there is a lack of maturity. He has clearly had a difficult and deprived background, effectively being abandoned by his parents and brought up by his grandmother. His grandmother also had his uncle living with him. Sadly, around a year ago, his uncle committed suicide.
“He clearly took too many drugs. He was suffering from psychosis. He believes that he may have issues with ADHD and autism. He left school at 16 years of age and thereafter worked legitimately. He worked in waste management. He works part time as a tree surgeon.
“He tells me that, prior to his arrest, he was also working at Heinz. There are signs that this defendant can work legitimately, but, ultimately, he fell into the wrong crowd through drug taking, which led to him committing these offences.”
The 22-year-old admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and possession of ammunition without a certificate. Liptrot was jailed for three years. Sentencing, Judge Stuart Driver KC said: “You were selling the drugs to make profit for yourself.
“There is a serious aggravating feature. You were running or operating a county lines business. It was sophisticated in the use of technology, in that a mobile phone, or a number of them, were used to send out over 7,000 flare messages, advertisements to what must have been a broad base of potential customers.
“In mitigation, I do not consider you to be a man who was addicted to these drugs. The only information we have is your statement in the pre-sentence report, that you were a weekend user of cocaine. Clearly, you have been consuming the drugs and it may have had some impact on your mental health. You are of previous good character, and you have had a difficult background. You have some work history.”
