Holywell,North Wales - Man who took up dealing cannabis is jailed

Published date: 04 January 2016 | 

Published by: Staff reporter
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A MAN who turned to cannabis dealing because he could not find a job has been jailed for a year.

Luke James Myers, 24, was said to be dealing full-time and the prosecution estimate he could have been making up to £65,000 a year in illegal profit out of it.

Myers, of Strand Walk in Holywell, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply and money laundering after police raided his home in October.

Judge Niclas Parry said Myers was working as a cannabis dealer. “You were caught red-handed and up to your neck in it,” the judge told him at Mold Crown Court.

Police found nearly £10,000 in cash and drugs worth £1,200 already packaged for sale.

The lists and the phone messages only went to confirm that “you were effectively working as a drug supplier.” the judge said.

Judge Parry said the offence could carry a sentence of up to three years but Myers had pleaded guilty, had made brave and honest admissions to the police and had no previous drugs convictions.

The court heard Myers had given up a job to act as carer for his brother and his mother.

Judge Parry said the commitment he had shown to his family showed there was another side to him but it was a serious matter which had to result in an immediate sentence. A timetable was set for a Proceeds of Crime Act investigation.

The court heard that at 2.30pm on October 23 police executed a search warrant and found a large quantity of pre-bagged cannabis and a total of £9,500, most of it in a safe under the stairs. A dealer’s list and mobile phone were seized.

The drugs were found to weigh 112 grammes with an estimated street value of £1,600.

A dealer’s list showed he had more than 40 customers with a potential turnover of £104,520 a year with a profit of £32,000 to £65,000.

Myers said he had been selling cannabis to make money because he could not find a full-time job.

He was on benefits and said of the cash seized, £4,700 was drugs money and £5,000 was what he had saved from his benefits over the years.

Myers said he only dealt to friends and claimed to have turned people away from his door after they heard he was dealing by word of mouth.

He would not answer questions about his supplier but said the supplier would call and expect £5,000 from money in the safe.

Nicholas Sefton, defending, said it was a tragic case, with the care of Myers family falling squarely on his shoulders. Mr Sefton said Myers appreciated the way he had dealt with matters wrongly and put his family at risk.

He committed the offences because of the financial and emotional pressure he felt under.

The period of time he dealt in cannabis was over a month and he did it out of desperation. He had been trying to cope financially.

Mr Sefton said Myers gave up his job to take care of his family but had ambitions to join the army or become a plumber or a plasterer.

There was also another side to him. 

He helped in the care of his partner’s mother when she was terminally ill and he had helped raise £2,500 for MacMillan

SEE-.http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/156785/holywell-man-who-took-up-dealing-cannabis-is-jailed.aspx