Swindon cocaine dealer jailed (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Swindon cocaine dealer jailed

8:16am Monday 5th May 2008 in Swindon By Gazette Reporter

A 23-year-old drug dealer who made £17,000 over a five month period selling crack cocaine has been jailed for five years.

Andrew Scott stored the cash in a safe at his grandma's home as he pushed the class A drug across town.

Meahwhile his pals, Eddy West, 21, and Michael Kiddell, 23, were each jailed for two years for dealing in both heroin and crack cocaine.

The men were caught peddling the drugs after police launched a surveillance operation following a boast by Scott about the profits he was making from his trade.

And on one occasion West was spotted selling heroin to a 15-year-old girl on Buckhurst Rec in Walcot East.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, said in October last year police armed with a drugs warrant searched Scott's home but found nothing.

"He made some rather unsolicited and stupid comments at the time in relation to his drug dealing and money he had made in relation to that," she said.

He told cops he was making £800 a day and had £25,000 stored away which his family knew about should he be arrested.

As a result she said a surveillance operation was started a few days later watching at his home on Buckhurst Crescent.

During the next few weeks officers watched as a number of drug deals were completed involving the three men at the address.

On Monday December 10 a man was seen leaving the house and arrested a short distance away with two wraps of heroin.

Just over a week later Kiddell and West were seen approaching two people on the Rec one of whom was a 15-year-old girl.

She too was arrested soon after and found to have a wrap of heroin which she said she had bought for her older sister.

The two men were arrested at a nearby address where they were found to have wraps of heroin and crack cocaine.

Scott was arrested the following day and tried to swallow a wrap of crack cocaine as police raided his home.

They also went to his grandmother's house and found £17,000 stored in a safe there. The money has been confiscated.

Scott, of Burbage Road, Penhill, pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine between July 1 and December 21 last year and possession with intent to supply on December 20.

West, of Buckhurst Crescent, Walcot, admitted supplying heroin and cocaine between November 1 and December 21, supplying heroin on December 19 and possessing both drugs with intent to supply on the same day Kiddell, of St Phillips Road, Upper Stratton, admitted supplying heroin and cocaine between November 1 and December 21, and possessing both drugs with intent to supply on December 19.

Peter Fortune, for Scott, said his client, who has a partner and a young child, showed great remorse for what he had done.

After losing his job he said he had become addicted to crack cocaine and started to sell it to fund his habit finding he could make a profit.

"What I submit is this was a one off in his life over a period of time of course for which he is genuinely remorseful and pleads guilty," he said.

Mike Pulsford, for West, said his client had drifted after leaving school but developed a serious drug habit in the past year.

He said he was selling drugs just to fund his own habit and did not make anything from doing so.

Rob Ross, for Kiddell, said the same was trued for his client who had been living a feral existence' sleeping on people's sofas. He said he was on the bottom rung' of drug suppliers.

Jailing them Judge Douglas Field said "Heroin and crack cocaine are very addictive and dangerous drugs and the court as a matter of course deals very severely with offences that relate to these substances."

He said he was treating Scott differently as he had sold drugs on a commercial basis' making a £17,000 profit over five months.