Blackpool drug dealer caught with 43 wraps of crack cocaine and £1k cash stuffed in underpants

Police were inside the property checking on the safety of the resident when teenager Shaay Ogden turned up with his pants filled with crack cocaine, cannabis and cash, a court heard.

The 18-year-old, from Gorton Street, Blackpool, acted in such an “erratic” manner towards the officers that he was detained and searched, Preston Crown Court was told. They found almost £1,000 together with drugs with a street value of around £860.

Ogden, of Gorton Street in the resort, pleaded guilty to possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, but was spared an immediate jail sentence because of his age, his immaturity and the fact he was a first-time offender.

Judge Ian Unsworth was told police were visiting an address in Spencer Court, Blackpool because of concerns for the welfare of a vulnerable tenant. It was suggested the flat had been “cuckooed” by a gang to be used for their drugs business.

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Lewis Brocking, prosecuting, said that when they knocked on the door a 20-year-old man tried to climb out of a back window, only to step back in when he saw officers in the back garden. He tried to dispose of property in the kitchen and was arrested.

While they were searching the flat Ogden entered the property. “Due to his erratic behaviour towards police he was detained,” said Mr Brocking.

They found £960 and some cannabis on him and he was arrested. But then 43 wraps of crack cocaine worth around £860 were discovered in his underwear. They also examined his mobile phone and found messages which showed he had been dealing drugs.

The prosecution alleged Ogden had a “significant operational function within the chain.” He was aware of what he was involved in and was making a financial gain from his work.

But Anthony Parkinson, for Ogden, said his client had been a cannabis user, but had been asked to store some Class A drugs by a gang. He had agreed on the basis that he would receive cannabis for his own use as payment.

He was told the drugs he was storing were worth £10,000 and when they went missing the dealer had told him he now owed the money. So he began selling Class A in order to repay that debt. During the next three months he was not receiving any money but was just servicing the debt.

“The resident of the flat may well have been cuckooed, but not from anything this defendant did. He is 18, he is not criminally sophisticated,” said Mr Parkinson.

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Judge Unsworth told Ogden: “When the police attended Spencer Court it is clear they weren’t expecting to see you. They had gone to conduct a visit on a vulnerable person.

“It was thought more sophisticated drug dealers were cuckooing – having taken over the property - and were exploiting others who might be able to do their dirty work for them.

“You weren’t there, but you attended and you were arrested and found to have crack cocaine, cannabis and just shy of £1,000. Your mobile phone showed you had been involved in drug dealing.”

He said it was clear Ogden had an operational function within the chain, but that it was not a major one. There was evidence, he added, that he had been involved through naivety and immaturity and he had been working to pay off a debt “while under threat from others more sophisticated than you.”

He gave Ogden a 21-month sentence suspended for 18 months. He also ordered him to do 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities. The cash was seized and the drugs and phone destroyed.