Duo dealing cocaine to pay off debts avoid jail
PAIR WERE ‘COERCED’ INTO DRUG SUPPLYING
TWO drug dealers caught with cocaine they were selling to pay off debts have been spared a prison sentence.
Craig MacDonald and Tracy Thain were pulled over by police in a car in Ashington, Northumberland.
They admitted they had both crack and cocaine, and examination of their phones revealed evidence they were supplying.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the pair were coerced into doing it to pay off drug and gambling debts and the amount of narcotics seized was relatively small.
It was on July 17, 2019 that the car, driven by MacDonald, with Thain in the passenger seat, was stopped.
Both admitted they had drugs and produced metal tins from their pockets which contained the drugs, along with £295 cash. MacDonald had two small bags of cocaine worth £100 and four foil wraps worth £200 and Thain had 24 foil wraps of crack worth £240.
MacDonald, 41, and Thain, 44, both of Park Road, Ashington, pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
They were each sentenced to two years suspended for two years.
Recorder Jonathan Sandiford QC told them: “I accept this was not your cocaine but cocaine you had been coerced into selling on behalf of others in order to repay drug debts you had accrued. Both of you were motivated by financial gain.
“There was a degree of pressure and coercion but you are the authors of your own misfortune to a degree.”
The judge said the fact both have made efforts to come off drugs meant he could take a “merciful” course and not lock them up if they stay out of trouble.
Liam O’Brien, for MacDonald, said he previously worked as a healthcare assistant in a stroke unit and was married with children but his life spiralled out of control and he lost his marriage and job. Mr O’Brien told the court: “He took, as he describes it, the stupid decision of taking drugs and he has not been able to kick the habit until now. He is not taking drugs anymore, he is in the best position he has been in his life for decades.” Richard Herrmann, for Thain, said: “She’s clearly had a troubled background throughout her life for various different reasons. “Problems in her early life no doubt led her into using and abusing drugs an an addiction. The motivation behind this offending was paying off debts, drug and gambling debts.”
I accept this was ... cocaine you had been coerced into selling on behalf of others to repay drug debts Recorder Jonathan Sandiford QC