Mum helped ‘violent’ gangster boyfriend run coke ring from inside Forest Bank prison

Lisa Prescott, who was in a relationship with criminal James Close, admitted being part of a cocaine ring which dealt thousands of pounds of drugs. She was caught out by DNA

A mother has confessed to aiding her gangster boyfriend in managing his cocaine operation from his cell in Forest Bank prison. Lisa Prescott’s involvement in James Close’s drug empire allowed her to live a life of luxury, despite having ‘no evidence of a legitimate income’.

The 40-year-old had been romantically involved with Close, labelled a ‘violent and dangerous criminal’ by a judge, for ‘many years’. Close, recently slapped with a 36-year sentence after being convicted of drug and firearm offences, was closely connected to Salford gangster Jamie Rothwell.

Close was implicated in the trafficking of 28 kilos of cocaine, and the movement of nearly £500,000 of drug money. Prescott, who drove a Mercedes, had thousands of pounds confiscated from her car and home in Leigh. She served as a ‘middle woman’ for Close while he was on remand at HMP Forest Bank in Salford, awaiting trial for the case that eventually led to his imprisonment, reports MEN.

Her DNA was found on the inside of a glove which contained cocaine on the other side, Manchester Crown Court was told. Prosecutors stated that Prescott was spotted in a property in Crumpsall linked to drug dealing. She insisted she was there for ‘innocent reasons’.

She entered a guilty plea to conspiring to supply a class A drug on Wednesday, following the prosecution’s case presentation to the jury. Prescott, along with several other defendants implicated in the cocaine racket, are set to receive their sentences at a later date.

Prosecutor Andy Scott revealed that Greater Manchester Police had been conducting a covert investigation into the Manchester-based organised crime group, which was involved in the ‘commercial supply of controlled drugs, primarily cocaine’. “Their tentacles spread from Manchester throughout the UK,” Mr Scott stated.

The prosecutor alleged that a man named Thomas Hunt, who has reportedly ‘fled’ the country, was ‘at the head’ of the group and is currently ‘wanted’. He was ‘assisted by others’ within the conspiracy, which operated between March and October of the previous year.

As part of the operation, police confiscated over 15 kilos of cocaine, two kilos of heroin and more than six kilos of amphetamine. “The total value of the drugs that were seized had a street value in excess of £1.8 million,” Mr Scott disclosed.

Close, 44, and Prescott ‘had been partners for many years’ and resided together at Henry Street in Leigh. Mr Scott added: “During the period of this conspiracy, James Close was remanded in custody at HMP Forest Bank in Salford.

“James Close had been remanded in custody since July 2020 and was at the time of this conspiracy awaiting trial for an entirely separate conspiracy to supply class A drugs. James Close was subsequently convicted of that offence in June of this year.”

Close was handed a 36-year sentence for drug and gun offences alongside Rothwell and others in August.

Mr Scott revealed that the prosecution decided it was not in the public interest to bring another case against Close. Mr Scott stated: “It’s the prosecution case that James Close was actively involved in continuing his drug business and supply of cocaine from his prison cell.

“In order to continue his drug business while he was remanded in custody, he used his willing and able partner, Ms Prescott, to facilitate the supply of cocaine as a trusted middle woman, if you like, working under James Close’s direction together with Thomas Hunt.”

Police swooped on an address in Crumpsall where they seized 11 kilos of cocaine, and which Prescott was spotted entering. Police searched Prescott’s vehicle, a Mercedes, and her home. They confiscated £2,000 in cash from her car, and a further £4,500 stashed in the electric meter cupboard. They also seized five mobile phones.

Mr Scott said that a ‘full hit’ of Prescott’s DNA was found on the inside of a glove, with the outside containing cocaine. Jurors were informed that HMRC held no employment record for Prescott in the tax years 2020, 2021 and 2023 to 2024.

Mr Scott stated: “The prosecution says with no evidence of a legitimate income, Ms Prescott’s lifestyle was funded by her involvement in her partner James Close’s ongoing cocaine business, a business James Close was continuing from his prison cell while on remand.”