JAILED: Drug addict turned dealer to settle debts
A desperate drug addict's bungled bid to settle a debt cost him dear when he ended up being jailed for two years and eight months.
Michael Dickens was persuaded to pay back what was owed to his dealer by selling heroin and cocaine for him.
The 48-year-old defendant was caught red handed by police after being loaned a car and mobile phone, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told this week.
Officers stopped the nine-year-old Ford Focus he was driving in Brierley Hill on September 15.
Mr Michael Conry, prosecuting, explained: "They were acting on intelligence and noticed that the defendant was extremely nervous and shaking when answering simple questions."
Wraps of heroin and cocaine worth a total of £720 were found in the pockets of Dickens when he was searched, the court heard.
Mr Conry continued: "He admitted dealing in drugs for somebody else and being paid in drugs to feed his own habit. He said that the car and mobile phone had been provided for him and he was simply following orders. There seemed no reason to doubt this account."
Miss Nicole Steers, defending, said Dickens was trapped by his own habit.
"He felt he had no alternative," she said. "He owed a debt to his dealer and there was an element of pressure. It was made very clear there would be consequences if he did not do as he was asked by an individual who knew of his addiction and was preying on him."
Dickens from King Street, Dudley, who had previous convictions for shoplifting and drug offences and was on licence following a jail term for producing cannabis when arrested, pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply.
He was sent back to prison by Recorder Stephen Thomas who said: "You are a user yourself and had been provided with the car and phone by somebody else so you could feed your addiction through street dealing."
