DRUGS COURIER JAILED
The ninth member of a drugs gang who brought cocaine valued at millions of pounds to the North East has been jailed.
Jamie Malloy was sentenced to five years and four months by Judge Howard Crowson.
The sentence brings the total jail terms imposed in the case to 68 years.
Gang leader Asa Dobbing was earlier jailed for 14 years, as was his brother Aidan.
The brothers used their Aspect Garage business at Toll Bar, Ryhope, as cover for the drugs operation.
The business has since closed, and the site demolished.
A jury at Teesside Crown Court heard Malloy was the gang’s main courier.
He was arrested with a kilo of cocaine in his car after meeting another gang member at a shopping centre in Derbyshire.
“Undercover police observed Malloy meeting a co-conspirator at the rear of Rolls Royce, in Pallion” said Nick Dry, prosecuting.
“That was where the other man worked, and cash was seen to be passed between the pair.”
Malloy, 28, of Swan Street, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs between August 2012 and April 2014.
Judge Crowson said he was entitled to a lesser sentence than the other defendants because he had pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors claim Malloy benefited by more than a million pounds from his drug dealing.
Tony Davis, defending, said: “There may be a dispute over that figure, but this matter should be capable of resolution.
“When Mr Malloy was arrested he had about £10,000 in cash.
“He has no other assets.”
A hearing on September 8 will determine if Malloy or the other defendants have any assets which can be seized as the proceeds of crime.