Tees Valley
Member of jailed drugs trio 'a main supplier'
THREE members of a gang dealing
in crack cocaine and heroin
were jailed yesterday with sentences
totalling nine years.
Teesside Crown Court was told
David Hobson, 24, who drove his
black BMW on drug runs, was
clearly trusted by dealers higher
up the chain to protect their identities.
Police spotted Hobson and
Daniel Scott, 22, in a cafe at Asda
in Thornaby, near Stockton, on
March 29 last year.
When the two realised they
were being watched, they fled,
and Scott dropped a sock containing
£2,655 of heroin.
Officers again saw Hobson in
his BMW approach a Renault
Clio, with a woman driver, in Sun
Street, Thornaby, on July 8.
The woman passed over money
and Hobson threw a package of
crack cocaine, worth £350, into
her car.
Christopher Attwooll, prosecuting,
said Hobson and Scott
were again in the BMW on August
14, in Fairfield Road, Stockton,
when two packages of heroin
worth £2,800 were thrown out,
the court was told.
Police raided the Thornaby
home of Lee Atkinson, 17, on October
29, and they seized heroin
worth £1,035. He had six wraps of
heroin in his clothing, another
six wraps were found in his mother's
room and there were heroin
traces on kitchen scales.
Stephen Constantine, mitigating,
said that Hobson had been
using drugs since he was 16, and
was addicted to Class A drugs
when he was 18. He had a previous
conviction for possession of
crack cocaine.
Mr Constantine said: "He has
no intention of returning to
using drugs or behaving in such
a fashion as will return him to
court."
Judge Peter Bowers said to
Hobson: "Clearly, you must be
trusted by those who deal in
drugs, both to sell on their behalf
and to protect their identities
and business from others."
Hobson, of Hazel Road, Stockton,
was jailed for 42 months
after he pleaded guilty to supplying
crack cocaine and possession
with intent to supply heroin.
Atkinson, of Beechwood Road,
Thornaby, was sent to a young offenders'
institution for three
years after he pleaded guilty to
possession with intent to supply
heroin and possession of
cannabis skunk.
Scott, of Tithebarn Road,
Stockton, was jailed for two years
and nine months after he pleaded
guilty to possession with intent
to supply heroin.
Speaking after the case, Detective
Sergeant Tom Drysdale, of
Stockton police drugs unit, said
he was satisfied with the sentences.
"In particular with Hobson,"
he said. "Although the charges do
not reflect his actual involvement,
we believe he was one of
the main people involved with
the supply of drugs within the
Stockton district. Anybody who
is considering taking over his
role will be pursued as he was."
11:45am Friday 9th May 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
