Manchester drug dealer who boasted of his criminal exploits in rap videos posted online is jailed for nine years
Justin Shaw, a drug dealer from Longsight, Manchester, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for his involvement in the supply of class A drugs over a five-year period. Shaw operated the "MJ line," a prolific drug supply network dealing in crack cocaine, heroin, and cannabis, with estimated dealings worth over £5 million. Evidence included seized phones, cash, and rap videos where Shaw boasted about his criminal activities. The investigation was part of Greater Manchester Police's Programme Challenger, aimed at tackling serious and organized crime.
Justin Shaw will spend the next nine years behind bars after Manchester Crown Court handed down the sentence yesterday for running a multi-million-pound drug empire that exploited vulnerable residents across Longsight.
The 22-year-old, of Richmond Grove East, had built a criminal network so extensive that detectives estimate his MJ drug line generated more than £5.2 million in illegal profits between 2019 and 2024. The operation, which supplied crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis, made 732 outgoing calls and received 3,026 incoming calls in just one week of February 2024 alone.
Police first targeted Shaw in October 2022 when Challenger team officers raided his Longsight address, discovering iPhones, over £1,000 cash and cannabis. Analysis of the seized devices revealed a trove of messages and videos documenting Shaw’s drug supply activities. A second arrest in September 2023 yielded more evidence showing Shaw employed vulnerable community members to distribute drugs and used their homes as storage and preparation sites.
Detective Constable Shahhet of the Challenger team said: “This was a lengthy investigation into a prolific and dangerous drug dealer. We’re pleased that today’s sentence is the culmination of a thorough investigation, resulting in Shaw being put behind bars for a long time, making the streets of Greater Manchester safer from a man who not only exploited young and vulnerable persons to work for him, but also exploited vulnerable people addicted to class A drugs for his own benefit.”
The investigation revealed Shaw had brazenly promoted his criminal lifestyle through rap videos posted to YouTube under the names “JS” and “J SHAW”, glorifying his illicit profits and activities.
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