“He had nearly £30,000 of drugs in his property…. the figures speak for themselves”
Gary Jones, of Birchtree Road, Aigburth(Image: Merseyside police)
A drug dealer raked in a small fortune with his “one man band” business, blowing his ill-gotten gains on designer bags, a Louis Vuitton purse and a Rolex watch worth £21,750. Gary Jones, 29, was said to have returned to a life of crime after losing his job at a garage.
Jones, of Birchtree Road, Aigburth, was busted for possession with intent to supply class B drugs on two previous occasions in February 2017 and March 2019.
His renewed operation was discovered on February 1 last year, when police raided his Liverpool city centre flat and seized a treasure trove of illegal goods.
This included 2.3kg of cannabis and cannabis resin with an estimated value between £16,711 and £28,473, and £64,945 in cash. A designer bag was found in the bedroom, along with further designer goods such as a Louis Vuitton purse and a Rolex worth £21,750.
The overall value of the criminal property was £86,695, prosecutor Kevin Liston told Liverpool Crown Court today, July 4.
He said: “Seizures included smell-proof bags, plastic pots, block cannabis, a flip knife, scales, various phones, a Rolex watch, designer bags, money, blocks of cannabis resign, Rizzlers, vacuum pack bags, Louis Vuitton designer items.”
He said Jones played a “leading role” in the operation, with an expectation of substantial financial gain. He said: “He had nearly £30,000 of drugs in his property. As the Crown we say the figures speak for themselves.”
Nicola Daly, defending, said Jones had returned to drug dealing after the garage where he worked shut down.
She said he did not play a leading role in the operation as he was not commanding others in a chain. She said: “This defendant is a 29-year-old man who appears, now at least, to be somebody that is not very confident in himself, that’s extremely concerned not just for himself.
“This is not a defendant leading an operation. What he was doing was buying cannabis and selling it himself. He wasn’t involving anybody else.
“He wasn’t instructing anybody to deal on his behalf. He was buying in bulk, not paying upfront, selling it, and then handing the money to his suppliers.”
Jones pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a class B drug (cannabis) and possession of criminal property.
Sentencing him, Judge Andrew Vinson said: “It’s quite right that this is not drug dealing on a significant scale in terms of the size of your operation. This is a one man band. That, it seems to me, does not cause it to fall outside the leading role category.
“The fact that you were a one man band does not mean you’re not directing it or organising it. You can’t therefore be safe to have anybody else that has control over you. It was your decision and your decision alone to indulge in the pernicious activity of drug dealing.
“It can’t be said to be anything other than a commercial scale, given the value of the drugs you have and the items you have derived from them. You must have expected substantial financial advantage, because there were items in your possession derived from it.”
He sentenced Jones to a 28 months in prison on each count, to run concurrently.