Crime Correspondent: Middlesbrough

Andrew Lee Usher, formally of 15 Westerham Grove, Beechwood,recovered 250 grams of very high purity cocaine, with about 600.00 cash, when they raided

Andrew Lee Usher, formally of 15 Westerham Grove, Beechwood, was ordered by a court to hand over £71,000 of goods. Teesside Crown Court ruled that he had illegally earned £171,060.71. Middlesbrough Drugs Unit recovered 250 grams of very high purity cocaine, with about £600.00 cash, when they raided his home in March 2005. They also recovered a pistol together with ammunition and a stun gun. Usher was arrested later that day and claimed that he was looking after the drugs for someone. He admitted purchasing the pistol whilst on holiday and that he had found the stun gun in his partners car. In September 2006, Usher was sentenced to three years six months for the drugs offence and 18 months and 12 months for possession of the pistol and stun gun after he pleaded guilty. Detective Inspector Mel Ashley, of Cleveland Police, said: "This is another example of the effects of pursuing the benefits of crime by these individuals and those connected with them. It sends a powerful message that we will continue to seek courts orders which will ultimately remove the financial gains of drug dealing from those who choose to push their drugs on the streets of Middlesbrough."

Andrew Lee Usher, formally of 15 Westerham Grove, Beechwood,recovered 250 grams of very high purity cocaine, with about 600.00 cash, when they raided

Andrew Lee Usher, formally of 15 Westerham Grove, Beechwood, was ordered by a court to hand over £71,000 of goods. Teesside Crown Court rule...

Stephen Speight, 43, of Whinney Banks Road, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison

Stephen Speight, 43, of Whinney Banks Road, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison Police executed a search warrant at his friend’s home in Barsford Road, Thorntree, where they found Speight with 2.915g of heroin worth about £291. Speight, who was also carrying £733 in cash, made full admissions to the police and admitted he had been selling heroin for around seven days, Teesside Crown Court heard.Prosecutor Richard Parsell said: “The defendant admitted the drugs were his and said his intention was to sell them.“He admitted he had been supplying heroin over the past week and volunteered the information that he had sold about 20 wraps. There’s no evidence of this, apart from his own admissions.”Officers discovered a plastic tub containing heroin in two separate packets and three foil wraps. In the room there was also drugs paraphernalia, including scales and a Stanley blade. There was also a single Subutex tablet with a street value of £5. Back in 2001, Speight was sentenced to four years in prison after he sold heroin to police officers who were carrying out a test purchase.Mitigating, Paul Green described Speight as a “street level dealer and nothing more” and said he was “particularly disappointed with himself.”

Stephen Speight, 43, of Whinney Banks Road, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison

Stephen Speight, 43, of Whinney Banks Road, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison Police executed a search warran...

Liaquet Ali was not the “architect or planner” of the drugs plot which could have brought more than £500,000 worth of skunk cannabis onto the streets.

Liaquet Ali was not the “architect or planner” of the drugs plot which could have brought more than £500,000 worth of skunk cannabis onto the streets.Defence barrister Balbir Singh said 50-year-old Ali was used by others as a “front” in order to secure the lease of the premises they had chosen for the large-scale operation - the former Probation Service office building in Longlands Road, Middlesbrough. Mr Singh said his client was initially unaware of what the building would be used for until the papers were signed.“He became aware, of course,” said Mr Singh. “But he never, ever visited the Longlands after the cannabis farm was set up.” His three co-conspirators were sentenced two weeks ago.Organiser Shafiq Aziz, 39, of Fountains Drive, Acklam, was jailed for three years.Damion Clenaghan, 23, of Cobham Street, was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 200 hours’ unpaid work for his role as “errand boy”.Kaleem Khan aka Kevin Felton, 26, of Lothian Road, was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 300 hours’ unpaid work for being the group’s “patsy”.Ali, of Clifton Street, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce the Class C drug of cannabis - the same charge faced by his three co-conspirators.Judge Peter Armstrong gave Ali a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years, with 12 months supervision and 300 hours’ unpaid work.He said: “In 2007 or thereabouts, having led a hard-working life in the steel industry and as a taxi driver, I think you attempted and got a little greedy by the possible rewards from this scheme.“But this scheme was not of your making. You were not the organiser of it, you were not the architect. This was a foolish episode in your life.”The court heard Ali made no financial benefit from the conspiracy.The former Probation Service was raided in a major police operation on May 21 last year.The four-storey property had been converted into a cannabis factory. Rooms were filled with plants as well as ducting, cabling, fans, hoses, a ventilation system, heat lights suspended by wires, transformers and timers. Officers seized 2,136 cannabis plants at various stages of growth and about 2,000 root sections from plants.A “conservative estimate” put the crops’ potential yield at 50kg, worth more than £500,000.

Liaquet Ali was not the “architect or planner” of the drugs plot which could have brought more than £500,000 worth of skunk cannabis onto the streets.

Liaquet Ali was not the “architect or planner” of the drugs plot which could have brought more than £500,000 worth of skunk cannabis onto th...

Albert “Papa” Thoms. Head of the gang flooding Teesside with the highlyaddictive Crack.

Albert “Papa” Thoms was sentenced to ten years in jail by Teesside Crown Court after he admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. The 32-year-old violent gangster headed the conspiracy, monitoring stock, arranging couriers’ travel and even dealing occasionally. His girlfriend and fellow Jamaican, Claudine Neil, 38, was given a reduced sentence of two years in jail when she was sentenced in the summer. Neil played a major role in the network as the telephone operator who arranged the deals – and agreed to give evidence against the rest of the gang. She is now a protected witness and is unlikely to be deported back to the West Indies because of her endangered status as a supergrass. Thoms and his gang moved into Middlesbrough and controlled the supply of crack cocaine to the North-East. His operation made at least £1m profit a year, and threatened to cause a turf war with local gangsters, police feared. After sentencing, Detective Inspector Dave Lamplough, one of four officers commended for their work on the case, said breaking up the gang could have prevented a huge increase in gun crime, like that seen in other UK cities. He said: “This has certainly reduced the availability of crack cocaine in the region, and there is evidence there has been a reduction in acquisitive crime. The availability of crack cocaine in this area was reasonably limited, so this group could have been one of the main suppliers. “As time progressed, it was inevitable that there would have been turf wars and increased violence.” Thoms’ second-in-command – Lloyd Ormsby, 33, from Galbraith Street, London – received a seven-year sentence for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Major dealers Wycliffe Clarke, 37, of Briggeford Close, London, and Marcus Steadman, 30, of no fixed address and who was an escapee from prison at the time of the operation, were jailed for four years each. Three other Jamaican nationals – Neisha Hemmings, 26, from Oxford, Sushana Young, 24, from Wolverhampton, and Stephen Alcide, 47, from London – were given community sentences for lesser roles in the conspiracy. Head of the gang flooding the region with the highlyaddictive drug was identified as Albert “Papa” Thoms. One of his many girlfriends, Claudine Neil, was the telephone “hub” known as Donna to those who called a variety of numbers to make orders. Months of undercover work was carried out to monitor the movements of Thoms, Neil and the couriers and dealers who worked for them. In April last year, more than 400 officers – including armed teams – were used in six force areas to carry out raids and arrests. More than £60,000 in cash and huge amounts of crack cocaine were recovered in the swoops on Teesside, County Durham, North Yorkshire and Tyneside, as well as London, the West Midlands and South Yorkshire. It emerged that the Donna network was making a profit of almost £3,000 a day. Thoms is thought to have had the drugs imported from Jamaica, mixed them with a bulking agent to increase quantity and profit and arranged for their delivery north. Judge Les Spittle ordered a public commendation to Detective Inspector Dave Lamplough, Acting Detective Sergeant Tony Keogh and Detective Constables June Campbell and Phil Burns. Judge Spittle said: “This investigation was a monumental task and this must have been a tremendous team effort. “Each of these officers is representative of a particular area of this investigation and I am pleased there should be on record a public commendation, not only of your work, but also of the vast amount of work of other police officers involved in this investigation.” After the case, the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Sean Price, said: “I firmly believe that the dismantling of this drugs network from the top downwards has prevented the emergence of gun crime on the streets of Cleveland. “The Operation Elland team, led by Det Insp Dave Lamplough, deserve immense credit for their determination to bring to justice those that would bring such misery to the streets of Middlesbrough and the North-East. The large number of convictions, including those at the very top of supply chain, sends out the powerful message that if you come to Middlesbrough to deal drugs, regardless of whether you are local, national or international, you will go to jail. “I also want to stress the important role the public have played in this matter. “It may be that having supplied us with information, some local people may have been disappointed not to see immediate action. “I want to assure the public that there are very good operational reasons for this. Timing in this operation was crucial and once all the information was in place, we were able to move in, secure evidence and take out the whole network in one go. “This would not have been possible without the assistance of the public and I would urge anyone with any further information to contact us immediately.” Det Insp Lamplough said: “It has been two years of painstaking work, but results like today are why you become a police officer. “It has been a privilege to work with such a dedicated team. “This was a partnership between police and public, which has resulted in the removal of an entire drugs network, not just from the streets of Middlesbrough, but the UK. “I welcome the sentences handed out today, which should act as a clear warning to those who mistakenly see drugs as a way of making easy money. “I can assure any other gang hoping to step into the shoes of the Donna network that we will be waiting for them.”

Albert “Papa” Thoms. Head of the gang flooding Teesside with the highlyaddictive Crack.

Albert “Papa” Thoms was sentenced to ten years in jail by Teesside Crown Court after he admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. The 32-...

Leslie Louth, 44, told police he thought he would go to prison for 20 years.

Leslie Louth, 44, told police he thought he would go to prison for 20 years. he received a fraction of that term as a judge accepted he stored and transported the narcotics to pay off debtsHe was stopped in his private hire car on Hemlington Hall Road, Middlesbrough at 2.40pm on April 9. Officers found almost 16kg of amphetamine, Teesside Crown Court heard. Police believed the high-purity drugs would be “bulked out” and could have a value of £310,000.Large quantities of drugs were found in two Middlesbrough addresses linked to Louth. In a garage on Chervil Court, police found several kilos of cutting agents, six bars of cannabis weighing 1.48kg and worth £6,334, along with bags and trays with traces of amphetamine, gloves and chopping boards.In the bedroom, they discovered 934 Ecstasy tablets, all worth £4,670. Officers also found 391g of glucose, a hold-all with traces of Ecstasy and £510 cash. At a home on Aberdare Road, Grangetown, scales carrying amphetamine powder were uncovered.Louth, of Aberdare Road, admitted possessing Class A, B and C drugs with intent to supply. He had no previous convictions.Robert Mochrie, defending, said the previously anti-drugs dad was “mortified”, remorseful and anxious about causing grief to his family.Louth fell into using cocaine after a marriage break-up: “The people who supplied him had a grip on him and effectively gave him the ultimatum - look after these drugs and we will reduce the debt, or face the consequences.“He started out as being a warehouseman. This then developed into physically transporting drugs around the area. In return for this, his debt was knocked off bit by bit.”Louth, whose partner stood by him in court, wrote a letter to Judge Peter Armstrong and had a character reference from an ex-colleague at Corus. The judge said it was sad to see him in the dock.He accepted there was genuine remorse, it was out of character and Louth might never see the courts again. He jailed him for four years, including 145 days already served.

Leslie Louth, 44, told police he thought he would go to prison for 20 years.

Leslie Louth, 44, told police he thought he would go to prison for 20 years. he received a fraction of that term as a judge accepted he stor...

Linton Steele had an £80-a-day crack habit when he was selling the drugs on the streets of Middlesbrough.

Linton Steele, 28, began using drugs after his father and a cousin were shot dead in crime-capital Kingston, Teesside Crown Court was told. He had an £80-a-day crack habit when he was selling the drugs on the streets of Middlesbrough.Then as recently as July 21 his younger brother was gunned down in Kingston while Steele was on remand on drugs charges in Holme House Prison, Stockton. Steele had been arrested on a Kingston flight which landed at Gatwick in May after he was identified in an undercover police crackdown in 2006 code named Operation Drayton.He had been deported to Jamaica for immigration offences. He had married an English woman living in London and the couple had four children. He returned to the UK on a spouse's visa but police were notified.Steele first came to the UK in 2002 where he remained until he was refused permission to stay in May last year.His lawyer Peter Wishlade told the court: “The reason he was in Middlesbrough was that he was going through a particularly rocky spell with his wife, and he stayed with a friend for two months.“He had to feed his own addiction of £80 a day and he sold drugs on behalf of others.“He has freed himself of drug addiction now. The only reason he became involved in drugs was the shooting of his father and his cousin, and he found that drugs provided some solace.” Mr Wishlade told the judge: “I think that you are probably aware that Kingston, Jamaica, is not the easiest place to live.“He does seem to me to be a very pleasant and very respectable man.”Prosecutor Simon Reevell said that Steele unwittingly supplied crack cocaine to an undercover officer in central Middlesbrough for up to £40 a rock.Steele delivered the drugs after the officer rang two dealers on their mobile phones.The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Peter Fox QC told Steele: “I accept everything that has been said and written on your behalf. “But you know that cocaine is an evil thing and you were bound up with others in Middlesbrough in its distribution.”Steele, of Waterloo Road, Middlesbrough, was jailed for three years after he pleaded guilty to eight charges of supplying a Class A drug in March and April 2006.

Linton Steele had an £80-a-day crack habit when he was selling the drugs on the streets of Middlesbrough.

Linton Steele, 28, began using drugs after his father and a cousin were shot dead in crime-capital Kingston, Teesside Crown Court was told. ...

Tanweer Razak, 28, Piotr Izbicki, 26, Rukhsar Bashier, 34, and Ajaz Arif, 33, are accused of running four cannabis factories in Middlesbrough,

Tanweer Razak, 28, Piotr Izbicki, 26, Rukhsar Bashier, 34, and Ajaz Arif, 33, are accused of running four cannabis factories in Middlesbrough, after more than 1,100 plants were seized in a series of raids at four addresses in the town in October last year.Razak, of Elm Park, West Reading, Bashier of Brooker’s Hill, Shinfield, and Arif and Izbicki, both of Basingstoke Road, Whitley, have all denied conspiring to produce cannabis at the two-week long trial at Teesside Crown Court.Sarah Mallett, prosecuting, said the properties were bought to set up sophisticated factories which suggested commercial cultivation and national distribution of the drug. Defence barristers made closing speeches on Thursday, saying there was a lack of evidence of knowledge or agreement in a conspiracy, or linking the accused to the cannabis.Taxi driver Razak is alleged to be the unscrupulous, money-motivated “mastermind” or “top man”. His counsel, Caroline Goodwin, said if he was the brains of the outfit, he did it in “the most cack-handed way”. The Crown says Izbicki acted as a go-between and was heavily involved in the day-to-day management of the properties. His barrister David Lamb said the builder was just a worker who thought he was doing a fair day’s work “in the wrong place at the wrong time”. One “Mr Tai” was said to be “a dark figure lurking behind the conspiracy” who exerted a grip on others, threatened Izbicki and abused Arif’s trust. The prosecution said Arif bought all four homes in 2007. Arif said he knew nothing of the cannabis production until he was arrested. Peter Sabiston, defending Arif, said he was “given a few bob to tell a few white lies on a mortgage application form and ask no further questions”. It is alleged Bashier was an investor financing the illicit enterprise. Stan Reiz, for Bashier, said he was a credible, respectable, successful businessman and the only evidence against him was five banker’s drafts said to be deposits for the properties. Judge Michael Taylor is to sum up the case against the four today and the jury is due to be sent out. On the judge’s direction earlier in the trial, the jury acquitted a fifth defendant, Tokeer Akhtar, 27, of Elm Park, West Reading.

Tanweer Razak, 28, Piotr Izbicki, 26, Rukhsar Bashier, 34, and Ajaz Arif, 33, are accused of running four cannabis factories in Middlesbrough,

Tanweer Razak, 28, Piotr Izbicki, 26, Rukhsar Bashier, 34, and Ajaz Arif, 33, are accused of running four cannabis factories in Middlesbroug...

Raymond Owen had more than 1kg of cocaine, worth more than £55,000, and almost £214,000 cash scattered about his rented house

Raymond Owen had more than 1kg of cocaine, worth more than £55,000, and almost £214,000 cash scattered about his rented house on Grantham Gr...

Simon Bland bailed with a condition not to travel as a front-seat passenger in a car and imposed an interim driving ban

Simon Bland was stopped in his Ford Focus automatic twice within the space of three hours for bringing terror to the roads of Teesside on July 7. yesterday begged a judge to ban him from the roads for life for his series of potentially-deadly outings last year. The second time he was stopped - after colliding with a van in Middlesbrough - police found the 35-year-old slumped at the wheel. Three weeks later, Bland mounted a kerb and narrowly missed a child on a bike before knocking down a refuse collector and hitting a stationary car. On November 22, police were called to a Middlesbrough medical centre when staff became concerned about drug-addict Bland's behaviour. Bland tried to flee the scene in his £5,000 hatchback and drove at pedestrians on the pavement before reversing into the patrol car. After being arrested, he refused to be interviewed and failed to provide a urine sample to help police discover if he had taken drink or drugs. Bland pleaded guilty to three charges of dangerous driving when he appeared at Teesside Crown Court - and asked to be locked up immediately. But Judge Les Spittle yesterday adjourned the case to learn more about the recovering heroin addict's troubled background. Bland, who told the court he is suffering from hepatitis B and lung cancer, asked the judge to remand him in custody ahead of his next appearance. He said he would receive better care in the hospital wing of Holme House Prison in Stockton and was in tears as he pleaded with Judge Spittle. The judge gave Bland bail - with a condition not to travel as a front-seat passenger in a car - and imposed an interim driving ban. Judge Spittle explained that it would be easier to get medical and probation reports if Bland was bailed to his home in Hemlington, Middlesbrough. Bland, of Boscom Gardens, left court in tears and vowing to commit a crime so he would be locked up.

Simon Bland bailed with a condition not to travel as a front-seat passenger in a car and imposed an interim driving ban

Simon Bland was stopped in his Ford Focus automatic twice within the space of three hours for bringing terror to the roads of Teesside on Ju...

Raja Arshad,Shazad Majid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs between December 2006 and July last year.

Raja Arshad, 26, who lived there, and Shazad Majid,29, of Westbourne Grove, North Ormesby, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs between December 2006 and July last year. They were remanded in custody for sentence later. Three more men and a woman deny conspiracy with them and also with unknown others, and Mr Makepace said that the issue was whether each of them was a party to it. On trial are Arshad's father, Mohammed Arshad, 50, and his brother, Murthaza Arshad, 24, both of Oxford Road, his sister, Tabenda Kayani, 25, of Kensington Road, Middlesbrough, and Amin Younis, 31, of Brafferton Road, Middlesbrough. Mr Makespeace said that some of the items in Oxford Road had the fingerprints of Younis. Raja and Murthaza Arshad both had beds in the attic. Murthaza Arshad was arrested in the attic, and he told officers that there was money in the bedroom. a detective on foot patrol spotted a nervous woman on a street corner carry out a drug deal with a man in a car.Police then tailed the P-reg Mercedes to an address in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, and a decision was taken to apply for a search warrant. two hours later, officers raided a house in Oxford Road, Middlesbrough, where they walked in on a family scene of a couple and two young children. But in the attic they found a bedroom containing a black suitcase which they were told held £2,000 business takings, but the true figure was £5,040 heavily stained with heroin. The attic also gave up £1m worth of heroin with a street value of nearly £2m, the biggest amount discovered in Middlesbrough, and also huge quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine.There were cutting agents used to dilute the drugs, and a vast amount of packaging material, plastic bags, brown paper and scales. Nearby in Ayresome Street - at a disused shop and garage with a flat above - they found a drugs factory with more packaging, cutting agents and a blender coated with heroin.Peter Makepeace, prosecuting, told the jury about the Oxford Road police raid - he said: "They had every reason to believe that they were about to carry out a routine drug search and uncover some low level street dealer."

Raja Arshad,Shazad Majid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs between December 2006 and July last year.

Raja Arshad, 26, who lived there, and Shazad Majid,29, of Westbourne Grove, North Ormesby, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class ...

Mandy Sharp was jailed for four months consecutively to her previous sentence, which was due to end this month, after she pleaded guilty

Mandy Sharp, 39, was brought from prison to Teeside Crown Court to be sentenced for supplying the Class B drug after serving eight months for two previous drug offences. The 47 grammes of amphetamines were in a plastic tub and a plastic bag, and she admitted they were hers. Kristian Mills, prosecuting, said that Sharp had been on bail on April 17 last year for possession of Class B and C drugs, and she admitted to a probation officer that she made a conscious decision to continue supplying drugs.Peter Kilgour, defending, said she had been open with the police and she had not claimed that she was holding the drugs for someone else.She first came to the attention of the courts when she was 33, and before then she was an ordinary mother bringing up her children under difficult circumstances.She said that she had been drug free since she was jailed last August, which did not always happen in prison. She was willing to accept the help of the Probation Service to reduce her drug use on her release.He added:"She has a child of 21 months, she just wants to get out and become a mother again. "I ask for the opportunity that she can simply go back to being a mother." Judge Les Spittle told her:"You deliberately decided that you would make as much as you could before you were locked up. "It was a conscious and deliberate decision by you to benefit yourself before you faced the consequences of an inevitable prison sentence for what you had done before. "But frankly, I and the probation officer can see no basis on which I can suspend the sentence. You have got to pay the price. It's up to you, if youreally want to get away from drugs, put your actions where your words are. "If you really want to be a mother again then behave like one." Sharp of Warren Street, Middlesbrough, was jailed for four months consecutively to her previous sentence, which was due to end this month, after she pleaded guilty to supplying a Class B drug.

Mandy Sharp was jailed for four months consecutively to her previous sentence, which was due to end this month, after she pleaded guilty

Mandy Sharp, 39, was brought from prison to Teeside Crown Court to be sentenced for supplying the Class B drug after serving eight months fo...

Maxine Eland,had 68 offences on her record, including cocaine possession, prostitution and breaching an Asbo.

Maxine Eland, 41, evaded justice for months after absconding to Luton while facing allegations of involvement in drugs supply, a court heard. She was seen passing on £40 rocks of crack cocaine during a police operation targeting drug dealers in Middlesbrough twice in October 2006.Eland, of Lytton Street, Middlesbrough, admitted two charges of being concerned in the Class A drug’s supply and failing to surrender to bail. She had 68 offences on her record, including cocaine possession, prostitution and breaching an Asbo.Junior Bryan, 50, who lived with Eland on Norcliffe Street, North Ormesby at the time of the 2006 drugs supplies, was jailed for three years last May after admitting 17 crack cocaine supply charges. Paul Cleasby, defending, said Bryan supplied addicts to feed his own habit, Eland was also a user, it was not her enterprise and she did not profit. There had been no more loitering offences or trouble in Luton since the drug deals. Judge Michael Taylor jailed Eland for 18 months.

Maxine Eland,had 68 offences on her record, including cocaine possession, prostitution and breaching an Asbo.

Maxine Eland, 41, evaded justice for months after absconding to Luton while facing allegations of involvement in drugs supply, a court heard...

Michael Rhodes collapsed in a cell at Middlesbrough police station

Michael Rhodes collapsed in a cell at Middlesbrough police station on February 25 after being taken into custody on suspicion of drug offenc...

Shaun McGinley was given a six month jail sentence suspended for two years

Shaun McGinley, 22, turned up at the enquiry desk and told an officer: "It's not them, it's me," said prosecutor Emma Gough.The police had arrested his mother and girlfriend after a search warrant unearthed a cannabis bush at his Middlesbrough home.McGinley, an apprentice, was at work but a neighbour phoned him saying: "Your house has just been raided."The cannabis bush was found in bags along with electronic scales and £215 cash, Teesside Crown Court was told.McGinley told police they would find two more bags of cannabis in the laundry basket on the landing, and he said that nobody else was aware of them.He said that he was planning to sell them to pay off a drugs debt, and the cannabis had a street value of £2,000. Rachel Dyson, defending, said that McGinley owed quite a lot of money to some "particularly not nice people" and they had suggested that selling the drugs for them would be a way of reducing his debt.McGinley of Alnwick Court, Middlesbrough, was given a six month jail sentence suspended for two years with 12 months supervision, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £270 prosecution costs after he pleaded guilty to possession of a Class C drug with intent to supply on June 27.

Shaun McGinley was given a six month jail sentence suspended for two years

Shaun McGinley, 22, turned up at the enquiry desk and told an officer: "It's not them, it's me," said prosecutor Emma Goug...

Andrew Sinharoy,Stephen Richardson deny robbery and attempted robbery

Mr Richardson, 23, of Edward Street, Stockton, and Mr Sinharoy, 28, of Wicklow Street, Middlesbrough, deny robbery and attempted robbery. The trial continues.Stewart Brockie is said to have arranged to meet a dealer in the hope his former girlfriend would turn up after he heard she was selling heroin on the streets. A jury at Teesside Crown Court was told how the North Yorkshire man had lost touch with his ex-lover, from Middlesbrough, but had been given a mobile phone number for the dealer she was working for and called to arrange a deal, in Middlesbrough, on October 27 last year. But the woman never turned up and, instead, Mr Brockie was said to have been met by Andrew Sinharoy, after travelling from his home in Catterick.Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said Mr Sinharoy became aggressive after being told by Mr Brockie - who did not use drugs - that he did not want any crack cocaine. Mr Sinharoy is alleged to have told Mr Brockie that he had paid £120 for the drugs and that he was going to have to give him some money. The court was told that Mr Sinharoy called a friend, Stephen Richardson, and the pair robbed Mr Brockie.Mr Bennett said the pair stole Mr Brockie's wallet and mobile phone, before threatening him with a knife and ordering him to drive to a cash-point to get some money.The jury was told that the men went to Sainsbury's, in Middlesbrough. Mr Bennett said the victim took an opportunity to flee inside the store and seek help from staff, while Mr Sinharoy and Mr Richardson ran away. The pair were later arrested, but claimed they rescued Mr Brockie from an attack by drug-dealers and paid off his debt, then went to the cash-point to retrieve their money.

Andrew Sinharoy,Stephen Richardson deny robbery and attempted robbery

Mr Richardson, 23, of Edward Street, Stockton, and Mr Sinharoy, 28, of Wicklow Street, Middlesbrough, deny robbery and attempted robbery. Th...