Crime Correspondent: Darlington

Michael Thompson was dividing up cannabis from a Tesco bag and weighing it on electronic scales

Drugs squad officers became suspicious when they saw the Ford Fiesta on a remote car park, and when they approached it there was an overpowering smell of cannabis, said prosecutor Paul Abraham at Teesside Crown Court. The pair of 19-year-olds were dividing up cannabis from a Tesco bag and weighing it on electronic scales. They said they were waiting for two friends who would have bought it for £20 a bag. The car driver said he had bought the drug on credit for £600 and he would have made £1,000 profit.Mr Abraham added: "It would appear to have been a mobile cannabis factory, and they were separating it into deals."They also had £195 cash inside a Paystation box, a silver shaker used for separating cannabis, a set of electronic scales, and 12 clear plastic bags containing cannabis. They were taking it from a Tesco bag and separating it."Michael Thompson, now 20, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply it on December 8, 2006, at Piercebridge near Darlington.Judge Bryan Forster QC told him: "People speak highly of you and you have let yourself down by becoming involved in what that other person was doing. "You are clearly capable of much better and I am sure you have brought a lot of distress to your mother and your family by what has happened." Thompson of Bates Avenue, Darlington, was given a four months sentence in a young offender's institution suspended for 12 months with supervision, 80 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £250 court costs. The driver was sentenced in January to 12 months detention suspended for two years with 120 hours unpaid work after he admitted the same charge.

Michael Thompson was dividing up cannabis from a Tesco bag and weighing it on electronic scales

Drugs squad officers became suspicious when they saw the Ford Fiesta on a remote car park, and when they approached it there was an overpowe...

Nigel Johnson, Darlington, was jailed for seven years after he pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to su

Nigel Johnson,Darlington, was caught with £4,000 of crack in a car on the Wynyard Services on the A19 last September. He also had £500 worth of heroin and nearly £500 in cash. Father-of-six Johnson was a passenger in the car. Staff at the services became concerned about the driver who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, so they alerted police, said prosecutor Jim Withyman. Police went to the passenger side of the car where Johnson was sitting and they saw drugs on his lap and in the footwell. He tried to discard a black sock containing 70 wraps of cocaine. And in a search the police found the heroin and cash. Johnson had drug convictions dating back to 1984, including an arrest in almost identical circumstances in 1999. He was caught with cocaine and cannabis and was jailed for four and a half years plus 17 months prison recall in 2000, said Mr Withyman.He had ten drugs convictions and four for supplying drugs Johnson was a gym instructor and roofer who began using cannabis as a teenager, said Sumita Mahtab, defending. He had been addicted to drugs since his 20s. Judge Michael Taylor told Johnson: “The use of crack cocaine in this area is a big problem and plays havoc with the lives of users and their families. “It is a high-risk business to be involved in with big windfalls for the dealers and, when you are caught, big sentences. “I am quite satisfied that the public have got to realise that this is an evil trade, and people like you are going to be stamped upon and stamped upon hard.” Johnson, of Kitching Grove, Darlington, was jailed for seven years after he pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

Nigel Johnson, Darlington, was jailed for seven years after he pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to su

Nigel Johnson,Darlington, was caught with £4,000 of crack in a car on the Wynyard Services on the A19 last September. He also had £500 worth...