Judge tells young drug dealer to get rid of his 'dodgy mates'

A young drug dealer who sold cocaine "in the moment" has been warned not to "do it again in any moment" – and to get rid of his "dodgy mates". Jack Porteous tried to cover his tracks by arranging for another bank account to be used by customers who were buying drugs from him because he knew that his own mobile phone would be checked, Hull Crown Court heard. Porteous, 21, of Woodbine Close, Hull, admitted being concerned in supplying cocaine between September 1 and 5 this year and being concerned in supplying Pregabalin between March 3 and 16 last year.

Mollie Briggs, prosecuting, said that Porteous was arrested for an unrelated robbery matter and his mobile phone was seized. He refused to provide the PIN but data on the phone revealed that there were drug-related messages on it. He passed on the bank details of someone else for an £80 payment for drugs supply because his own phone would be checked by the probation service.



"He had used somebody else's bank account for the money to be transferred," said Miss Briggs. The previous offence involving Pregabalin was discovered when messages were found on a phone that indicated that he was willing to supply the tablets in batches for between £15 for 10 and £45 for 30. During police interview, Porteous made no comment to all questions.

He had convictions for 22 previous offences, most of them theft-related. He had been locked up for four-and-a-half years in June 2021 for wounding with intent and assaulting an emergency worker. Keep up to date with all the latest crime and court news from Hull with our free newsletter Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said that Porteous stood to gain very little for what were serious offences.

There were only potentially six customers, as revealed by the messages, and they were all people that he knew. When asked why he got involved in drug dealing, Porteous told the court: "I didn't really have a good reason for it. It was just in the moment.

" He had previously had an apprenticeship in mechanics lined up before being recalled to prison for breaching his licence after the wounding with intent conviction. He had served a 13-month period of recall to custody and had since been recalled for another six months until April next year, meaning that he would end up serving most of the original four-and-a-half years. Judge Mark Bury told Porteous: "Now is the time to get your head down, finish this sentence and work out what you want to do with your life.

If I were you, I would stay away from drugs, stay away from dodgy mates and get your life sorted out. "You say it was something you did 'in the moment'. Don't do it again in any moment.

It was your own little industry, hoping to make a little bit of money no doubt, but it was only a small concern. "There were six numbers on your phone and, when it came to Class A drugs, not even that many. You arranged for another bank account to be used because you knew full well that probation would look at your phone.

"You were on licence. When you are on licence, that means you have to behave yourself and, if you don't behave yourself, you get recalled and that's what happened. The fact that you were on licence is not clever at all.

"Stand up for yourself. If your mates say 'Do this', don't do it if it's not right." Porteous was jailed for 16 months.

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