A man who worked as a warehouseman for a drugs gang has been locked up after almost a kilo of heroin was found in his loft.
Police also found a fishing tackle bag in James Bohey’s home containing nearly £3,000 in cash when they carried out a raid.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the 42-year-old Stockton drug dealer had only become involved in the illicit trade when new neighbours started to take advantage of him.
Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, said Cleveland Police raided two neighbouring properties where they recovered drugs, weapons, cash, and drug dealing paraphernalia.
He said officers also discovered a client list and a mobile phone containing drug dealing related messages.
“In the loft area, two plastic bags were found, there was half a kilo in one bag and a third of a kilo in the other,” he said.
“The drugs were worth £28,000 at street value deals.”
Mr Sabiston said the fishing tackle bag contained £2,865 as well as a further £670 stashed in the two Stockton properties.
The court heard how keys for BMW were also discovered and more drugs were recovered from the vehicle.
Bohey, of Redbrook Avenue, Stockton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs – heroin – in August 2018.
Victoria Lamballe, mitigating, said her client was a vulnerable and isolated man who was taken advantage of by more sophisticated criminal offenders.
She said: “He had no influence over anybody higher up the chain, there has been some naivety on his behalf, he has been warehousing drugs for others.
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“He has been worried about custody since the day of his arrest almost six years ago.”
Judge Howard Crowson jailed Bohey for three years for his role in the drug dealing gang after heroin was found in his loft while his fingerprints and DNA were recovered from bags containing drugs and inside the BMW.
“A search was carried out of your home, it was being used as a warehouse, most of the drugs were in your loft right next to the hatch,” he said.
Other members of the drug dealing gang will be sentenced at a later date.
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