Harrogate drug dealer jailed after being caught with more than £5,500 of cocaine in car

Robert Marsh, 27, was stopped by a plain-clothed officer near his home on Burley Bank Road, Killinghall, in March last year.

The officer found just over two ounces of cocaine inside Marsh’s car, prosecutor Adam Walker told York Crown Court.

Marsh was arrested and a subsequent search of his home revealed a cornucopia of drug items including weighing scales and dealer bags, York Crown Court heard.

Police also found cocaine inside a Tupperware box and £90 cash inside a cupboard, added Mr Walker.

He said the 55g of cocaine found inside the vehicle had a street value of up to £5,550.

The value of the drugs and the period of time that Marsh had been dealing suggested he stood to make “significant” profits.

Police also seized two mobile phones from Marsh which showed he had played an “operational or managerial” role in the drug racket.

He had been giving people drugs “on tick” and was “managing a customer’s debt”.

Defence barrister Susannah Proctor said that Marsh, of Pinemoor Caravan Park, had never been in trouble before and was easily led due to his vulnerabilities.

She said Marsh “struggles intellectually” and found himself hanging around people he met at house parties who had persuaded or coerced him to deal drugs for them, although the prosecution didn’t accept this claim.

She added that Marsh had a £7,000 gambling debt at the time and sold drugs to try to pay that off.

He had struggled to pay his rent due to his gambling and moved into a caravan owned by his parents.

“He’s going to lose his home (and) he’s going to lose his job,” she added.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Marsh: “Prior to starting drug dealing you had been going to house parties and you realised there was more money to be made and got involved in drug dealing as a means to an end.

“That involved having money put into your bank account, giving people cocaine on tick and being caught by police (with) very-high-purity cocaine in your car, which on the street would be worth thousands of pounds.”

He said that Marsh was “not the most robust of characters” and now found himself in a “nightmare” of his own making.

“Cocaine is an absolute scourge,” added Mr Morris.

“If you swim with sharks, you are going to get bitten.”

He said Marsh “had to go to prison because Class A dealers must go down, otherwise people might be tempted to earn a little extra cash like you”.

Marsh was handed a 30-month jail sentence of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.