Gun-Toting Paul While Back Behind Bars Just 30 Days After Release
Paul While, 32, barely had time to taste freedom before cops slammed the cell door shut again. Only 30 days after being released, the notorious criminal was arrested by the Merseyside Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) in September.
While, from Glen Way, Tower Hill, Kirkby, Liverpool, had been recalled to prison earlier this year over firearm offences. With a rap sheet including burglary, discharging firearms, and even trying to stab a fellow inmate, he’s well known among Merseyside’s organised crime gangs.
Snapped Up in Knotty Ash with Sawn-Off Shotgun
The OCP had their eyes on While as soon as he was out and knew he was after a gun. On 2 September, officers caught him red-handed taking possession of a sawn-off shotgun in Knotty Ash.
When cops moved to arrest him at a property on East Prescot Road, While made a desperate run. He tossed a bag containing the shotgun over a fence into a neighbour’s garden and smashed his phone on the ground to cover his tracks.
This isn’t While’s first gun mishap. Back in December 2007, he accidentally shot himself in the foot with a sawn-off shotgun while trying to threaten a rival.
Jail Time Delivered at Liverpool Crown Court
On Friday, While was jailed after admitting to harming the public with a prohibited shotgun, possessing the gun without a certificate, and holding illegal ammunition. The judge slammed his lifelong involvement in crime.
OCP’s Crackdown on Merseyside Crime Gangs Pays Off
The Merseyside Organised Crime Partnership launched just six months ago in April and has quickly racked up serious wins against gangs flooding the region with drugs and firearms.
- Four firearms seized
- £750,000 criminal cash seized
- 104 kilos of cocaine confiscated
- 13 kilos of heroin taken off the streets
- 63 kilos of cannabis seized
Recent prosecutions include:
- Simon Roberts, 57, jailed for 10½ years for heroin and cocaine supply plus money laundering
- Stephen Taylor, 33, caged for nearly 13 years after an investigation tied to the EncroChat takedown
- Multiple ongoing cases involving heroin, cocaine, and cannabis supply
- A separate five-year jail sentence for another convicted firearm offender
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Lamb said:
“The OCP’s core mission is to protect the public and protect Merseyside from organised crime groups and offenders such as Paul While trying to blight it with their lethal commodities. Drugs and firearms so often go hand in hand and cause misery and chaos. It has been a very busy start for the OCP with some significant successes but we are determined to do more.”
National Crime Agency senior manager Mick Maloney added:
“Merseyside Police and the NCA together are a very strong partnership. The work we have done so far should serve as a warning to criminals across Merseyside that we are pursuing you and there is no end to our determination to bring you to justice.”
