Barber cuts off more than was legal
Undercover police arranged to buy drugs
A drug-dealing barber was caught by undercover police officers during a crafty cocaine sting in Scarborough.
A drug-dealing barber was caught by undercover police during a crafty cocaine sting in Scarborough.
Nicholas Atkinson, known as “Nic the Barber”, was visited in his Prospect Road salon by officers masquerading as potential drug customers.
Th e y exc ha n ge d ph o n e numbers with Atkinson, who arranged by text to meet up with t hem t wo weeks l ater, when he handed over 3.5 grams of cocaine.
The officer paid him £200 for drugs, York Crown Court heard.
About a fortnight later, Atkinson arranged for the officers to meet another dealer at the back of a pub in North Marine Road, where the contact handed the officers a £230 bag of M-Cat.
Three months l ate r, t wo undercover officers returned to the barber’s shop and lured Atkinson into a conversation about cocaine. Later that day, he sent one of the officers a text with the phone number of a cocaine dealer who met up with them in Durham Street and handed them four wraps of powder for £280. The plain- clothed officers arrested Atkinson at his salon on May 8.
Atkinson, 47, was charged with five separate drug offences i ncluding supplying 3g of cocaine and being concerned in the supply of 27g of M-Cat in October last year. He admitted both offences plus two others of being concerned in the supply of 2.7g of cocaine on January 8 this year, and producing cannabis between May 6 and 8.
Defence barri s t er Taryn Turner said Atkinson was otherwise a man of good character with no previous convictions.
Judge Tim Roberts QC gave the hairdresser an 18-month jail sentence suspended for two years. He ordered Atkinson to carry out 240 hours’ unpaid work and imposed a 12-month supervision order.