A convicted gang member who once posed with a shotgun and arranged bullet casings to spell out “f*** Dingle rats” has been hauled back to jail after falling back into drug dealing—this time hiding cocaine in his underwear.
Guns, cash and ‘chilling’ messages
Joshua Caldwell, 34, was previously jailed for 15 years in 2016 after police found him holding a shotgun in one of several incriminating images. One photo showed an antique French pistol next to a display of bullet casings spelling out a threat to a rival gang. Police also uncovered heroin and cocaine worth nearly £120,000 and a stash of weapons including sawn-off shotguns and pistols during the original investigation.
Back behind bars
Caldwell, from Fazakerley, was released on licence but was caught again in March this year with cocaine hidden in his pants and £2,000 in cash at his home. Officers also seized a £4,000 Rolex from his girlfriend’s wrist.
When searched, Caldwell handed over more drugs from inside his underwear and a mobile phone. He told officers the cash was a birthday gift.
Caught by his eyebrows
Prosecutors previously identified him in gang photos thanks to his “distinctively shaped eyebrows”. One picture showed him holding a Beretta shotgun before it had been sawn off. Detectives also found scales, tick lists and more drugs at addresses linked to his network.
‘Not Mr Big—just stupid’
During the original trial, Caldwell’s defence admitted he wasn’t the mastermind, arguing no “Mr Big” would be “so bloody stupid” as to pose with guns and threaten rivals in photos.
New sentence added
Now recalled on licence, Caldwell was jailed for a further 2,035 days—just over five and a half years—after admitting possession of cocaine with intent to supply and two counts of possessing criminal property.
Judge: ‘You’ve wasted your life’
Sentencing him, Recorder Richard Pratt KC told Caldwell: “This was by no means the first time you have been involved in drug supply. It is a point of regret that the severe sentence you received in 2016 did not have the lasting effect it ought to have had. Having lost a good proportion of your 20s, you are now going to have to spend a fair bit of your 30s in prison. That, I’m sure you appreciate more than anybody, is a waste of your life.”
