A drug dealer found with £40,000 in cash allowed his flat to be used for drug production, a court heard.
Paul Crawley appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday. Derek Jones, prosecuting, told the court that on August 31, 2021, police spotted men enter an address on High Park Street, Liverpool, at around 8:40pm, and leave shortly after.
They saw a Nissan leave the scene and became concerned as the car had its full beam lights on and no insurance was showing on their system. Officers saw some movement inside the car when they pulled the vehicle over, and spotted Crawley, of Slatey Road, Liverpool sitting in the front passenger seat.
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The back seat was covered in boxes, and when further searched by police a “golf bag sized" amount of powder was found. Crawley, 51, was arrested and found to have £270 in cash on him plus keys which were traced back to his then home address at Old Bidston Road, Liverpool.
The flat was searched and a safe was found containing £40,970 in cash. 384 grams of cannabis was also found in large blocks, with a street value of between £2800 and £4000, including 53 grams of female flowering heads with a street value of between £490 and £785.
Around 320 grams of cocaine with a value of between £12,800 and £32,000 was also discovered in storage boxes hidden under the floorboards, along with 577 grams of mixing agent. Crawley gave a no comment interview, and has 10 previous convictions for 29 offences including a conviction for conspiracy to commit a burglary for which he was given six years imprisonment.
He was also previously convicted for possession of controlled drugs, but never for possession with intent to supply. Peter Killen, defending, said: “The defendant has always accepted that the court will have to impose a custodial sentence on him today. He has brought his bag with him.”
He said his client has had issues with drugs in the past, but they are not to blame in this case. He continued: “He was not put under threat of harm but felt obliged because he owed money. He tried to ignore what he had gotten himself into.”
Mr Killen said his client had been in a relationship the last six months to a year, so wasn’t living at the flat.
He said Crawley’s partner, who attended court to support him, was on a “long list of people he knows he has let down”, and that once out of prison, he is determined to do better. Crawley pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply cocaine, one count of possession with intent to supply cannabis, and one count of being in possession of stolen goods.
In sentencing, Judge David Aubrey said: “Class A control drugs cause misery and desperation and you were involved in the trade of such drugs by agreeing to warehousing the drugs in significant quantities and on occasions facilitating transactions with others. You were part of that network of that sophisticated operation.”
Crawley was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment and blew a kiss goodbye to his partner as he was brought down to the cells.
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