Middlesbrough drug dealer with cocaine in house is jailed

Ross Lynch was spotted acting suspiciously on St Barnabas Road in Middlesbrough by police hunting dealers operating in the area.

Teesside Crown Court heard how police recovered a mobile phone and a set of keys from the defendant before they searched his property.

Elisha Marsay, prosecuting, said officers discovered a block of cocaine weighing 43.2g inside his home alongside weighing scales, grip seal bags and almost £1,000 in cash.

She said specialist officers estimated the cocaine was worth about £4,300 in the streets.

The 34-year-old pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A – cocaine – following his arrest on October 3 last year.

Kate Clark, mitigating, said her client turned to selling drugs to fund his own cocaine habit.

She added: “He was dealing cocaine for only a matter of weeks, very foolishly, while he was using cocaine.

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“He was using it so much so that he wanted to manage to keep out of debt and decided to deal to a small number of friends and people he worked with.”

Recorder Mark McKone KC said: “I accept that you were a Class A drug addict and the motivation was to fund your own habit rather than make a significant amount of money.

“I also accept that you were only doing it for a short period of time.”

Lynch, of St Barnabas Road, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to 32 months in custody.