2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Sara Nichol)
Five people have admitted their part in supplying drugs to undercover officers during an operation by Northumbria Police . As previously reported on Chronicelive, raids were carried out at addresses in Newcastle and nine men and women were arrested for supplying, being concerned in the supply or possessing class A or B drugs, mainly Spice. Now, five of them have pleaded guilty to their roles in dealing the drugs in Newcastle City Centre , particularly in "problem area", Hippy Green, outside Eldon Square .
Undercover officers managed to integrate themselves into the homeless community in the city as part of Operation Casper, a multi-agency approach aimed at reducing the number of drugs being dealt in the city. Nine people have now appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court as a result, with five pleading guilty to the charges against them. Those people are: Paul Merritt, 38, of Ridley Terrace, Felling , Gateshead , admitted supplying a class B drug, namely 1.
275g of Spice, to an undercover officer on October 8. Robert Brown, 40, of Hawthorn Terrace, Elswick , admitted supplying a class A drug, namely 51g of cocaine, to an undercover officer on July 1. Mark Waite, 38, of Stanton Street, in Arthur's Hill, admitted supplying a class B drug, namely 349mg of Spice, to an undercover officer on October 18.
John Burrows, 32, of Ladykirk Road, Benwell , admitted supplying a class B drug, namely 530mg of Spice, to an undercover officer on September 4. Courtney Jamal, 26, of no fixed abode, admitted supplying a class B drugs, namely 463mg of Spice, to a person known as "Charlton", on September 16. The court heard, in relation to Merritt, the undercover officers had been in a text conversation with another suspect about buying Spice and, on October 8, that suspect sent them a message saying he was "sending two lads to sell them a gram each".
Rehana Haque, prosecuting, said: "The officers went to the Grainger Market and nobody turned up, so they rang [the suspect] and asked where the two lads were. Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter "A few minutes later, they are approached by this defendant, Merritt, and they followed him to Newgate Street. As they reached The Gate, the defendant pulled out two bags of green matter in exchange for £20.
" The court heard that Merritt was on a suspended sentence, given by the crown court, and was on bail for at least seven other matters at the time. Ian Cassidy, defending, said Merritt was at the bottom of the of the supply chain, adding: "He's a user himself of the drugs. "He took part hoping he would get a cheaper deal next time he bought some.
" Merritt was remanded in custody to next appear at Newcastle Crown Court for sentence on January 2. Next in the dock was Brown, who admitted supplying cocaine to an undercover officer in similar circumstances. Ms Haque said: "This is class A rather than class B drug, so the starting point is three years in custody, so beyond your sentencing powers.
" Brown, who has a staggering 209 offences on his record and committed 131 of those while on bail, was bailed to appear for sentence at Newcastle Crown Court on January 2. Next up was Waite, who admitted supplying 349mg of Spice to an undercover officer. The court heard that the officer was asked by another suspect if he wanted to buy drugs and was led to Hippy Green, where Waite supplied him with a bag of Spice in exchange for £10.
Gurjot Kaur, prosecuting, said Waite had 69 offences on his record, was last convicted in August and was on a suspended sentence, given July, at the time. Jack Lovell, defending, said Waite was part of a homeless community in Newcastle. He added: "The individuals are homeless or living on the streets and, in order to get through that scenario, or through the night, Spice is their drug of choice.
"It gets passed around quite frequently in the homeless community. That's how Mr Waite becomes involved in it." Magistrates gave Waite a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and also ordered that his other suspended sentence was extended to two years.
He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge. Next up was Burrows, who admitted supplying an undercover office with 530mg of Spice. Ms Haque, prosecuting, said the officer contacted another suspect about buying drugs and was told to go to Greggs at Hippy Green.
Ms Haque continued: "The defendant arrived and told them to follow him to an alleyway and they exchanged drugs. "The defendant told them if they wanted more, they just needed to inform [the other suspect] and he would sort them out." Neil Connell, defending, said Burrows was lightly convicted.
Mr Connell added: "Mr Burrows is homeless when he supplies the officer with Spice. Mr Burrows is a member of the street community. The officer says, also, that he's had exchanges with Mr Burrows previously but not about drugs.
" Burrows was released on bail to next appear back at the same court for sentence on January 14. The final suspect to plead guilty was Jamal, who admitted supplying 463mg of Spice to someone known as "Charlton", knowing that he was going to pass it on to the undercover officer. Ms Haque said: "The undercover officer went to the People's Kitchen and, while there, was approached by a male known as Charlton.
"He offered to get them some drugs. Charlton asked the officer for some money and he gave it to him. The officer then saw Charlton give the money to this defendant and she's handed him a wrap of drugs, which was subsequently handed to the undercover officer.
" Mark Styles, defending, said Jamal, who has 19 offences on her record, had a lesser role in the supply and was doing "what she'd been told to do by others". Mr Styles added: "The male known as Charlton is now, sadly, deceased. That's why he has not been charged.
" Jamal was given a two-year community order as she was "doing well" on another community order given earlier this year. The four other people arrested as part of the raids pleaded not guilty to at least one charge against them and they were sent to Newcastle Crown Court for trial. ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
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