CAGED: Young drug dealer jailed after acting in 'complete stupidity'

Police first executed a search warrant on December 18 at the Melville Street home of Storm McGowan and found 102 wraps of amphetamine in a freezer and two large bags of cannabis worth more than £9,000, the town’s crown court was told.

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McGowan, aged 24, was also seen fiddling with an iPhone, which was seized by police and found to contain drugs-related texts from 48 different customers.

Prosecutor Susan Carter said the amphetamines had a street value of £8,370 and the cannabis would have been worth around £820 if divided into separate deals and sold.

Three children were present in the house at the time.

In January, police then raided the home of another man in the Daneshouse area, and McGowan’s fingerprints were found on different drugs packages retrieved from the house.

This led to officers returning to Melville Street in March to speak with McGowan again.

After searching his home they found two further stashes of amphetamines and cannabis, with a respective street value of £3,840 and £868.

Another iPhone taken from the defendant had messages on it from eight would-be customers over the past month, concerning the availability of the two drugs.

McGowan who has previous convictions for burglary and battery, admitted charges of possession of amphetamines and cannabis with intent to supply and possession of a CS gas cannister.

Jailing him, Judge Beverley Lunt said she had difficulty accepting the defendant’s claims that he had been a drug user and turned to dealing to pay off a debt, when there was no record of his previous involvement in substance abuse.

Peter Warne, defending, who said his client was acting under the direction of others, added: “It might be accounted for by complete stupidity.”

Judge Lunt said: “It is obvious that he was dealing for financial gain and there is no evidence of a drugs debt.

“It is a significant level of dealing.”