Drug dealing sisters sob in court after illegal parcels were delivered to neighbour by mistake
A pair of sisters who distributed cocaine and heroin were caught after parcels of the drugs were mistakenly intercepted by a neighbour.
Paris Connolly, 32, and Destiny Connolly, 26, were involved in the preparation and sale of Class A drugs through the ‘Kyzer’ line.
Destiny sent out more than 2,000 flare messages advertising drugs for sale. But when police were handed two packages of cannabis by one of Paris’ neighbours, investigations revealed the sisters were part of a large operation.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard the siblings were initially coerced into the enterprise by Jack Harrison, who has been jailed for drug offences.
When their homes were raided, officers found a wrap of cannabis in a Louis Vuitton handbag.
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The Connolly sisters pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, and wept as they narrowly avoided prison.
Alison Whalley, prosecuting, earlier told the court the sisters’ crimes came to light after Paris’ neighbour received three vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis weighing a kilogram in total.
They contained a strain of ‘Cali’ weed and were estimated to have a value of between £6,000 and £9,000 per kilo, or £10,000 if sold in street deals.
Destiny and her then partner, Jack Harrison, asked for the remaining two packages.
They were told they had been handed to the police, the court heard, before Harrison became ‘aggressive’, saying the parcels were worth £6,500 each and demanded the money or the parcels back.
Harrison, of Gildersdale Drive, was arrested on August 24 last year for possession with intent to supply class A drugs, driving offences, and strangulation of a police officer. He was jailed for six years and two months earlier this year.
In July 2024, officers identified a drug line dubbed ‘Kyzer’. Some 2,511 flare messages were sent out to contacts, advertising crack cocaine and heroin for sale.
There were also message requests for drugs, one example being – ‘four white, one brown’, slang for cocaine and heroin.
Ms Whalley said the phone in question belonged to Destiny and was also used to order on Just Eat, purchase clothes on her email, and contact Jack Harrison.
Messages showed Destiny initially asked her sister ‘if she wished to work’, saying: ‘Jack will ring you now if you do and he says he is sorry.’
There was also evidence of arguments between the sisters. One said in a message: ‘You’re sniffing more than you actually sell.’
Both of the sisters’ homes were raided. Officers found a Nokia, two iPhones, and a snap bag of cannabis from a Louis Vuitton handbag at Paris’ home in Oldham. Cops also found a knife and scales with traces of cocaine.
Defending, Ellen Shaw said that in a basis of plea document, the sisters said they were coerced into the criminality by Harrison. She found that Paris had a previous conviction for cultivating a cannabis farm in 2017.
Reading from several characters’ testimonies and letters from the sisters, judge Recorder Michael Hayton KC said Ms Shaw: ‘These two ladies pleaded guilty to some hugely serious offences.
‘Some of the offences to which they have pleaded, you are talking about sentences of many years in custody. I could sentence them for five to six years, and nobody could complain. They were being manipulated to an extent by Jack Harrison.
‘Sending these two ladies to prison would cause upset and anxiety to young children and put them in contact with sophisticated criminal,s despite already being forced into this by Jack Harrison. So, what do I do?’
Ms Shaw asked the court to pass a suspended sentence and said both women had been classed as being of low risk of reoffending by the probation service.
Sentencing them both to two years, suspended for two years, Recorder Hayton KC said: ‘You were playing your part and an important part in a substantial drug operation. There are facts before me that would allow me to send you to prison for years – you are not going to go to prison today.’
Both women wept as the judge added, ‘The reason why I am not sending you to prison today is firstly your age and character. The second is that Jack Harrison, it is clear to me, is the prime mover.
‘He coerced you to become involved. Those [messages] support the fact that Jack Harrison carried out domestic violence as part and parcel of the relationship. He is a bad man. Bad men beat you up, they hurt you, and get you involved in offences.’
Destiny Connolly, of Cardale Walk, Harpurhey, was handed a suspended jail term with 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Paris Connolly, of Manchester Road, Oldham, was handed a suspended jail term with 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
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