Drug-dealing dad from Burnley jailed for 10 years

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

The man pictured is David Berry.

He went into business with his son William Berry - like many fathers and sons do.

Unfortunately for them that business was dealing drugs and brought them to the attention of our East Exploitation Team. Their criminal enterprise has now been taken out of commission.

And William will have to send next year’s Father’s Day card to a new address after David was yesterday (15th July) sentenced  to 10 years in prison at Preston Crown Court.

On 14th August 2024 our officers received a call from a concerned resident who had seen two men at the rear yard of a property in Brunshaw Road, Burnley, with a machete and a moped.

When our officers searched the property for the two men, they found three kilos of white powder in a rucksack located in the loft. That transpired to be cocaine valued at £90,000.

Mobile phone enquiries led to the arrest of David and William on 28th November 2024. David was arrested and a number of weapons, mobile phones and a large block of cocaine were recovered. A set of keys for his breakers unit in Pentridge Mill, Burnley, were also recovered from him.

A search of the roof over the office space located a suitcase which contained approximately £250,000 in cash in plastic bags, bags and large tins. One of the tins had the name ‘Will’ written on it.

A further search of the unit located a hydraulic press, plates and moulds with white powder on them. A fridge was found to contain six large bags of cocaine and amphetamine valued at £14,000, a knife, scales and packaging. Further searches revealed large amounts of suspected cutting agent.

When William was arrested he was found with cannabis, mobile phones and £10,000 in cash.

An examination of the phones showed William was heavily involved in drug-dealing and had his own Telegram channel offering large amounts of cannabis on a regular basis.

David Berry, 66, of Fir Street, Burnley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply amphetamine and money laundering.

William Berry, 23, of Belmont Grove, Burnley, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and money laundering. He was sentenced to 15 months custody, suspended for two years.

DS Stu Peall, from our East Exploitation Team, said: “David Berry was a significant player in the sale of illegal drugs.

“Hopefully the public will be reassured by the sentence handed down to David, which reflects the seriousness of his offending.

“If you are aware of criminal activity in your area report it to us, confident that we will take the appropriate action.”

The action was taken as part of Operation Warrior, which is our response to tackling serious and organised crime in Lancashire and delivering on Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw's Fighting Crime Plan priority of disrupting and dismantling organised crime.

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner said: "Successful outcomes like this demonstrate the tireless work being done to protect the public and show that Lancashire is taking a relentless approach to tackling organised crime.

"Strong deterrents and proactive enforcement, driven by local intelligence, are essential. Equally important is early intervention to stop crime before it escalates and to break the cycle of reoffending.

"I remain fully committed to supporting the Chief Constable, ensuring our officers and staff have the resources they need to dismantle criminal gangs, drive offenders out of our communities, and deliver justice."