Dealer ‘not very good because he got caught every time he had drugs’
HE HAD CANNABIS, LSD OR BOTH ALL FIVE TIMES HE WAS STOPPED
A YOUNG Nottingham delivery driver found with cannabis cakes in his car was described by his own barrister as “not a very good drug dealer because he keeps getting caught”.
Kyel Anderson, 22, pictured, had either cannabis, LSD or both in his possession on each of five times he was stopped.
On one occasion, the expectant father was caught carrying a “bag for life” which contained 2kg of cannabis as he walked through Radford.
And, when police searched his Wollaton home, they uncovered more than 1.6kg of the drug and £9,000 cash, some in counterfeit currency.
However, as the defendant has spent months in custody already, had more than 600 days on a tag and had stayed out of trouble for more than two years, he was spared an immediate prison term.
Imposing a three-year community order at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge Steve Coupland said: “Between May 2020 and March 2022 you repeatedly became involved in the supply of drugs. Throughout this period you were either on bail, under investigation or the subject of a suspended sentence order and, despite that, you continued to commit these offences. So on the one hand you are somebody that appears to have thumbed their nose up to the court and says ‘I don’t care.’
“But on the other hand you have stayed out of trouble since March 2022, I have read a staggering amount of positive references on your behalf and you have been on a tag for 608 days and have spent five months in custody. I accept you are sorry for what you did.”
Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, said Anderson was a teenager when first caught with both cannabis and 100 LSD tablets when his car was stopped and searched on May 28, 2020.
On June 12 that year, a second stop found edible cannabis cakes in a cooler box. There were further stop-searches in November 2020 and January 2021, and on July 10, 2021, he was spotted leaving an address in Radford and followed.
“He was carrying a bag for life which was bulging and when he was stopped it contained 2kg of cannabis which had a wholesale value of between £11,000 and £14,700. “The final incident was on March 23, 2022, when he was stopped while driving a white Mercedes. A search found 1oz of loose cannabis and his key allowed officers into his address in Nidderdale Close where 1.659kg of cannabis was found along with £9,000 in cash, of which some was counterfeit.”
Anderson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis and LSD and possession of counterfeit currency.
In mitigation, Ekwall Singh Tiwana said his client and partner were expecting their first child and Anderson had found work as a delivery driver and was hoping to become an electrician.
“What is plain is that this defendant was very young and immature and is still only 22 now. He was not a very good drug dealer because he got caught every time he had drugs.”
As part of the community order, the judge ordered the defendant to carry out 300 hours’ unpaid work and to attend 40 rehabilitation sessions. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, which could see Anderson stripped of cash and assets, will take place in July.