'Golden Lad' and courier behind bars

A DRUG-DEALER who went by the name 'Golden Lad' and a man described by police as his 'trusted courier' have been jailed for a combined total of 14 years.

- BY PAUL BRITTON

David Waterhouse, 49, was 'identified as a key figure in the supply of multi-kilo quantities of Class A drugs' police said as they started their sentences.

Waterhouse, of Steps Meadow in Smallbridge, Rochdale, was jailed for 11 years after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and money laundering.

Matthew Brierley, 29, of Huddersfield Road, Diggle, Oldham, was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and money laundering.

He acted as a 'trusted courier' for Waterhouse, said the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit. Between 5 May 2020 and 12 June 2020, police said Brierley was involved in the supply of 7kg of cocaine and the laundering of £61,500.