A heroin dealer's dad flushed his son's drugs down the toilet after seeing him get arrested.
Jamie Dugdale admitted his crimes when caught red-handed by police and claimed he was being forced into the supply of class A drugs by those higher up the chain. But his concerned father intervened and made a desperate bid to cover up his illicit activities.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday that plain clothes police officers on patrol on Page Lane in Widnes spotted known drug users loitering in an alleyway leading to Harris Street, a "well-known area for drug dealing", on November 3 last year. Derek Jones, prosecuting, described how the PCs attempted to detained Dugdale when he approached the men, but he fled towards his then home on Harris Street.
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Once arrested, the defendant dropped a single wrap of heroin onto the ground. The 22-year-old then confessed: "I'm getting forced to deal because of when I went to jail last time."
His dad, Alan Dugdale, came out of their house when he saw what was happening and began acting "aggressively". The 51-year-old subsequently went back into his home, and when officers followed him inside they heard the sound of the toilet flushing.
The dad came out of the bathroom and police found wraps of drugs floating on top of the water in the bowl. He later said under interview he had taken the substances from his son's bedroom and tried to "get rid of them".
A total of £1,565 in cash was seized from the property. When Jamie Dugdale's phone was analysed, it was found to contain recent messages making requests for "brown" - a slang term for heroin.
He has three previous convictions for five offences, including being jailed for 30 months for possession of heroin and crack cocaine in 2019. Philip Tully, defending, described the cannabis addict as a "young man with physical and mental health issues" and added: "The background is, Mr Dugdale was having to deal with a drug addiction himself and being put under pressure by those above him.
"He wants to express his genuine remorse for his actions. He accepts that what he did was wrong and that he deserves to be punished."
Dugdale, now of Church Street, admitted possession of heroin with intent to supply. He was jailed for three years.
Recorder Eric Lamb also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs. Sentencing, the judge said: "You now regret what you did, involving yourself in the supply of drugs."
Alan Dugdale, of Harris Street, admitted obstructing police and possession of cannabis at Warrington Magistrates' Court in November. He was handed an 18-month conditional discharge and told to pay court costs plus a victim surcharge.
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