‘Untouchable’ drug dealer gets further jail time
ADRUG dealer given a lengthy sentence for stashing heroin worth more than £21,000 along a footpath has been handed more jail time.
In November 2016, organised crime group boss Blaine Mortie, then 31, was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, South Wales Police said.
Mortie, now 35, was yesterday given a six-month sentence for possessing a French ID card and being the leaseholder of a restaurant.
Mortie, of Pattenden Road, Catford, London, appeared via video link from HMP Cardiff.
Lowri Wynn Morgan, prosecuting, said that the breaches were discovered by officers during an unrelated inquiry.
At the time Mortie was the subject of a Serious Crime Prevention Order given to him in 2016.
Ms Morgan said officers found French ID cards with Mortie’s image but bearing the name David Brown.
Mortie also faced one charge of failing to comply with the order by being the leaseholder and tenant of Real Spice Restaurant on Tudor Street, Cardiff.
In relation to the restaurant, Mortie said his mother worked there and he “ran it for her”.
Judge Niclas Parry told Mortie “I can’t see what you’re playing at.”
He gave Mortie three months for each count, to run consecutively.
Mortie was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge and the ID documents will be destroyed.
Sue Ferrier, defending, said her client pleaded guilty to the two counts.
The prosecution did not offer any evidence for count one, which related to Mortie having possession of a motor vehicle, so it was formally recorded as a not guilty verdict.
In 2016, his brother Dwaine, 37, was also found guilty of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply following the trial at Cardiff Crown Court and was sentenced to three years.
The two were arrested after they were targeted by officers from the Eastern Organised Crime Unit as part of Operation Red Columbia in August 2015.
Acting on intelligence that Blaine Mortie was stashing large quantities of heroin and cutting agents in bushes alongside a footpath near Seager Drive, Cardiff Bay, officers were able to find evidence of him attending the area to recover the drugs and hide new stock over a period of weeks.
On September 11, 2015, the team lay in wait for the brothers, and after Blaine recovered £7,000 worth of heroin while Dwaine acted as a lookout, the two were arrested as they attempted to leave the footpath.
Two mobile phones, which were thrown into the River Taff by Dwaine Mortie, were later recovered and found to contain evidence linking him to the drug supply business.
Investigating Officer DC Sean Harding said at the time: “This conviction will undoubtedly have a positive impact in the community in Cardiff. The Mortie brothers, both originally from the London area, operated a significant heroin supply business in Cardiff.”
DS Dave Bancroft added: “The Morties believed they were untouchable. Further searches of the area, and of a flat controlled by the brothers, uncovered more than £14,000 worth of heroin, almost £5,000 in cash, large quantities of drugs preparation materials and cutting agents for cocaine.”