Telford dealer found with cocaine, cannabis and £10,000 cash is jailed

Elliot Humphreys, of Cockshutt Road, Oakengates, was sentenced after pleading guilty to supplying cocaine and cannabis over a period of three years.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that Humphreys was searched three times by police in 2016 and in total, was found with 81 grams of cannabis, 46 grams of cocaine, a number of mobile phones, and £10,222.55 in cash.

It is estimated the cannabis would have had a street value of between £700 and £1,000, and the cocaine between £1,500 and £1,800.

Paul Spratt, prosecuting, said Humphreys had 23 offences for a range of crimes including assault.

He said: "Humphreys was first stopped by police on the afternoon of June 27, 2016, while riding his bike in St George's, Telford. They recovered a small amount of cannabis, about £1,000 in cash, a sim card and two mobile phones.

"The mobile phones that were found showed a significant number of messages and the majority were about the supply of cannabis."

He came back to the police station to be interviewed again on October 12 and was found with another £570 in cash.

Mr Spratt said officers were called to Humphreys' home for an unrelated domestic incident on October 29.

He was arrested and taken into custody after he was found to have cannabis, £8,510 in cash and 10 mobile phones.

Addicted

He added: "He became addicted to cocaine and went into debt which ran into the thousands of pounds so became involved in the supply of drugs."

In mitigation, Debra White, said Humphreys is a father with two young children and a partner to take care of.

She added: "He asked me to tell the court that when he is released, his priority will be his children. He wants to set an example for them and to provide for them.”

Sentencing Judge Anthony Lowe described Humphreys as a “significant dealer”.

He added: “£10,000 is a substantial amount of money and who knows how much money you have actually made over the three years.

“I have also taken into account your age when these offences started, that you did not have the best of lives before you turned 18 and that there was a family tragedy.

“But, you need to understand that these things happen to a lot of people and they do not resort to crime as some sort of solace.”