A DRUG dealer was branded an 'idiot' by a judge after he allowed his home to be used as a postbox for the delivery of illicit goods.

Thomas Collinson was too scared to tell police who ordered him to take delivery of the drug packages but admitted taking a cut of the product as payment.

The 27-year-old was caught after one of the packages was intercepted by the UK Border Service in December 2017.

Teesside Crown Court heard how a police raid on his Guisborough home recovered samples of MDMA (ecstasy), ketamine and cannabis as well as products used in the production of ecstasy, amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Chris Baker, prosecuting, said a search of seized electronic devices revealed a number of drug related messages, including on offering to supply cannabis and another pointing a would-be customer in the direction of another dealer as he didn't have enough ecstasy himself.

He said: "During police interview he admitted being a regular drug user and this was clear from his mobile phone which was recovered.

"He didn't order the parcels and this is accepted by the prosecution. He had in the past had things delivered to his house at other people's request but refused to name them due to the fear of violence being used against him.

"Two or three of the packages he received contained MDMA or LSD."

He said the drugs were located in a converted garage where the defendant lived.

Collinson, of Oakley Close, Guisborough, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of MDMA, Ketamine and cannabis as well as a further three charges of simple possession of the three drugs.

Andrew Turton, in mitigation, said the delay in the case coming to court for sentence was not caused by anything that his client had done or anything that he could be held responsible for.

Judge Jonathan Carroll told Collinson that having the serious charges 'hanging over his head for three years is not just a form of punishment but mental torture'.

"For a period of time, I can't be precise, but it may have been about a year in 2017, you had become a drug user and like so many other drug users you had delved into the murkier world of of the supply of drugs.

"In part to access cheap drugs, in part to supply friends and in part to fund your own drug habit," he said.

"Commercial dealers find mugs and idiots like you to take the risk for them – they use you as a postbox to get their drugs delivered too."

Sentencing Collinson to a two-year custodial sentence, suspended for two years, the judge added: "It is unconscionable that it has taken this long to come to court.

"Two years suspended for two years – that is a rare sentence where Class A drugs are involved."

Collinson was also ordered to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work.