The manhunt for gangland boss Daniel Gee has entered its third day after the notorious criminal absconded from an open jail.
Gee, 44, was a leading member of a powerful gang that turned the Grizedale estate in Everton, Liverpool into a 24-hour drug market.
He was imprisoned indefinitely for his role in the operation, threatening to kill a teenager and attempting to acquire firearms.
Police and prison officers are working to recapture him after he fled from Category D Kirklevington Prison on Monday.
He was given an indefinite prison sentence in 2010 for the public’s protection, with a judge telling him: ‘I really do not know when it will be safe to release you.’
Gee is described as a white male, large build, around 6ft tall and bald.
He was last seen wearing a black jumper, black Adidas bottoms with a white stripe down each leg and black trainers. He was carrying a yellow JD Sports bag.
He is believed to have links to the North Yorkshire area including Whitby, Carlisle, St Helens and Merseyside.
Anyone who may have seen Daniel Gee or may know his current whereabouts is asked to call Cleveland Police on 101, quoting reference number 098852.
Gee was imprisoned for a minimum of four years after making death threats to Jamie Starkey – a 16-year-old gunman who shot him during a New Year’s day confrontation in 2008.
Jailing Gee indefinitely, the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe QC said: ‘I am in no doubt that the public must be protected from you in the future.’
At the time, Gee’s barrister, Stuart Lawson-Rogers QC told Liverpool Crown Court that the gangster was ‘terrified’ an indefinite sentence would mean he would ‘never see the light of day again’.
The sentence ran at the same time as the seven-and-a-half year sentence he was serving for drugs offences.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘All prisoners in Category D prisons are robustly risk-assessed and absconds are rare. Offenders who break the rules are punished and face extra time behind bars and we are working with the police to recapture this prisoner.’
Gee is one of Liverpool’s ‘Gee brothers’ who were known for dominating the Grizedale estate in the mid-2000s. His brother, Darren Gee was jailed for 18 years in 2006 for planning a revenge shooting of a member of a rival crime gang.
In 2017 another brother, Stephen Gee, was handed a six year and eight month sentence after he robbed an OAP while high on cocaine and his dead brother’s anti-psychotic medication.
He told Liverpool Crown Court that he had gone off the rails after his brother, Billy Gee, was tragically found hanged in 2016.
According to the Prison and Probation Service, Category D prisons have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes.
If an offender breaks the rules in an open prison, they are not permitted to return to one for at least two years.
In a trial in October 2009, Gee was found guilty of two counts of threats to kill and another two of blackmail.
Jurors were unable to agree on the two more serious charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition.
As his second trial was about to start, Gee, formerly of Maryport Close, Everton, admitted the second charge.