Cannabis dealer claimed £1,000 cash was mother's holiday money rather than from selling drugs
A cannabis dealer who claimed that £1,000 in his wallet was his mother's holiday money rather than from selling drugs had his story rejected by a crown court judge on Friday.
Craig Anthony Gibbs said that his mother saved the money from her benefits, gave it to him for safe keeping and the plan was to use it for spending money for an intended sunshine holiday to Majorca.
No holiday had been booked and they were waiting to get a late deal, he told the court.
But Judge Rhys Rowlands rejected the claim at Mold Crown Court and said he did not believe that the mother could have saved £1,000 from her benefits in six months.
He also said that there were inconsistencies in the evidence as Gibbs said that cash was needed so that it was available to buy euros.
But the mother's evidence stated that the money was being saved to buy an all inclusive holiday and that spending money was not needed.
Judge Rowlands also said it made 'no sense at all' that the mother would withdraw money from her bank and hand it over to her son for safe keeping when at the time it was admitted that he had a large cannabis habit.
Judge Rowlands made an order under The Proceeds of Crime Act that his criminal benefit was £1,741 and that the available amount for confiscation was £1,286.
The court heard that the money was already in the possession of the police.
Gibbs, of Pine Court in Newtown, was originally sentenced in April and admitted supplying cannabis and possessing cannabis with intent to supply when he appeared at magistrates' court in March.
At Mold Crown Court in April Judge Rowlands gave him an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
The court was told that the defendant had ceased the use of cannabis completely.
