Scarborough 'rocket-fuel' cocaine dealer jailed for four years

Mark Weaver, 33, was caught with up to £28,000 of cocaine at a house in Scarborough where hewas living with his girlfriend, who had no connection to the mega-money criminal enterprise, YorkCrown Court heard.

Prosecutor Brooke Morrison said police found grip-seal bags of high-purity cocaine and £11,000 incash inside the house and Weaver’s car parked outside.

She said that Weaver had been dealing for about 11 months between October 2022 and September this year.

But his drug enterprise was smashed after police arrested “a number of individuals” in the Scarborough area, some of whom were well-known drug users, on “unrelated matters”.

Their phones were examined and each of them showed they were being supplied with cocaine by Weaver.

“One of those was a 17-year-old male who was a customer of the defendant, but also working for him,” said Ms Morrison.

Some of the messages on the teenager’s phone showed that Weaver had been “instructing him to put someone’s window through and sell (drugs) on his behalf”.

The teenager told police that, under instruction from Weaver, he had robbed a “well-known drug user” and told him: “How’s if feel getting robbed? You did it to Weaver.”

Ms Morrison said that Weaver operated a “deal line” and sent out “broadcast” messages to customers bragging about his high-purity cocaine which he described as “rocket fuel”.

On July 25 this year, he sent out a block message which read: ‘New stuff. Rocket fuel. Active all night. Drops all round town.’

On July 29, he sent out another message telling customers: “Back active. Drops all over.”

On August 4, he sent out another broadcast message declaring: “New stuff: 10 out of 10. Drops everywhere.”

On the morning of September 9, police swooped on a property where Weaver had been living with his partner.

When police entered the property, he was in bed. Officers searched the property and his vehicle parked outside.

They seized two mobile phones, two snap bags full of pills, dealer bags, scales, a large amount of cash and 10 grip-seal bags of cocaine.

The total amount of cash seized from the house and Weaver’s car was over £11,600, said Ms Morrison.

Each of the 10 grip-seal bags contained 1oz of high-purity cocaine. If sold in ounces, they would be worth up to £20,000 on the street.

If sold in grammes, their street value would be worth between £22,000 and £28,000, added the prosecutor.

She said it was most likely that the drugs’ worth would be nearer £28,000 because of the 90-per- cent purity.

Weaver, of Spreight Lane Steps, Scarborough, was charged with possessing cocaine with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug and possessing criminal cash. He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence today.

The court heard he had seven previous convictions for eight offences, namely theft and kindred.

Defence barrister Nick Peacock said that Weaver, a father-of-two, was a family man who had lapsed into drug use during the Covid pandemic and “fairly quickly” developed a cocaine addiction.

According to Weaver, he had started selling drugs to pay off a debt to people who had threatened him.

Judge Simon Hickey said Weaver had played “both an operational and management function” in the supply of drugs for nearly a year.

He said this was aggravated by the fact that he had involved a teenage boy “both to deal and also mete out violence on your behalf”.

“It is aggravated also by the fact that you made a substantial amount of cash, given the purity of the drug,” said Mr Hickey.

The judge added: “I certainly know there are various cities and towns within my jurisdiction that are blighted by Class A drugs (and) Scarborough is significantly one of those.

“And here we are - yet another case where somebody is prepared to deal drugs on our streets.

“You are only a young man, but you have blighted your life with this. Those who deal on this scale bear the consequences, I’m afraid.”

Weaver was told he would have to serve half of the four-year sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

The Crown Prosecution Service set in train a timetable for financial-confiscation proceedings which will start in January next year and determine how much Weaver pays back into the public purse for his ill-gotten gains.

Detective Constable Darrel Temple, of the Operation Expedite team, said: “Drug dealers like Mark Weaver are responsible for untold misery and must be stopped before they cause more harm to vulnerable people and the community in general.

“We will continue to use all the powers at our disposal to deter and disrupt such criminal activity and bring offenders to justice.

“We again thank the outstanding support we get from residents in providing vital information about drug-related crime to the police directly or anonymously through the Crimestoppers charity.

“Trust your instincts. If something appears suspicious and out of place, it is always best to report it so we can take decisive action.”