A drug dealer who had his own “little business going” was suddenly stopped in his tracks when police searched his home and found heroin and cocaine potentially worth more than £2,400 hidden in a safe.
The do-it-yourself money-making scheme came to an abrupt halt after eagle-eyed police stopped a car that he was sitting in and seized a mobile phone that had a series of telltale messages about drug prices and deliveries on it, Hull Crown Court heard.
Lewis Blaydes, 25, formerly of Boothferry Road, Goole, admitted possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply on April 5, 2021.
Jennifer Gatland, prosecuting, said that Blaydes was spotted sitting in the passenger seat of a car in Boothferry Road, Goole. It was stopped and he was arrested. A mobile phone and keys to his flat were seized.
Weighing scales and plastic snap bags were found. A safe was opened using his keys and two bags were found inside. One had 14.5g of heroin, with a potential street value of £730, and the other had 21g of cocaine, with a possible value of £1,680.
The phone had Facebook messages between June 2019 and January 2021, involving Blaydes arranging sales of cocaine and discussion of prices and locations for delivery. During police interview, Blaydes made no comment to all questions.
Hannah Turner, mitigating, said that Blaydes was a low risk of reoffending and he had no previous convictions. He was not taking or selling drugs now and he was working up to 40 hours a week on a railway.
He had a daughter and his girlfriend had two children. “He is very willing to engage with anything that the court imposes,” said Miss Turner.
Judge Mark Bury told Blaydes: “You were caught with significant, although not necessarily large, amounts of Class A drugs. It’s quite clear that you had a little business going. You were frank enough to admit to the probation service that you were making money out of it.
“At some point, you stopped that. Ordinarily, you would be serving a lengthy sentence now. The guidelines suggest a four-and-a-half years starting point. I am going to step back from that.
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“You are not on drugs. You are not dealing drugs. I see no public interest at all in sending you to prison. You are going to get a chance. If you don’t take it, it won’t be my fault, it will be yours, won’t it?
“If you breach it, that’s your lookout and you will have nobody to blame but yourself. It’s just not worth it.”
Blaydes, now of Beech Crescent, Stainforth, near Doncaster, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, with no requirements.
“Any criminal offence would put you in breach of this order,” said Judge Bury. “If you breach this order, you don’t need me to tell you what is likely to happen.”