A three-time convicted drug dealer has been jailed after police seized a stash of cocaine and cannabis worth up to £180,000, along with Rolex and Versace watches and more than £54,000 in cash.
Paul Swale, 35, of no fixed address, was sentenced to three years and nine months at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday after admitting possession of cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.
His co-defendant Brian Bennett, 40, of Hawthorne Road, Bootle, was handed a 15-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to permitting a premises to be used for the supply of cocaine and cannabis, possession of criminal property and possession of a prohibited weapon in relation to a stun gun.
Raids uncover premium cocaine and tick lists
The court heard that police attended a property on Hawthorne Road in Bootle, linked to both Bennett and Swale, on January 20 this year. Searches revealed quantities of cocaine and cannabis, £54,410 in cash, two Rolex watches, a Versace watch, drugs packaging and tick lists.
An address on Prior Street, connected to Swale, was also searched on the same date. Further cannabis was seized from the bedroom, and Swale was spotted by officers outside in a Ford van, which was found to contain class B drugs and another tick list.
Prosecutor Peter Wilson said the total of 292g of cocaine had a purity of 91% and a street value of between £11,680 and £20,440. He added: "The purity of the cocaine was high, import quality and was a premium product. The expert therefore expects the value to be at the higher end of the range."
Packages of cannabis seized from across the two homes were valued in the region of £158,954. A phone seized from Hawthorne Road contained messages "suggesting the sale of haze and dog in quarter ounce deals".
Previous convictions and mitigation
Swale has five previous convictions for 13 offences, including six years for drugs and firearms matters in 2013 and 12 months for possession of a class B drug with intent to supply in 2017.
His counsel Charles Lander told the court that Swale was a father to four children, two of whom have ADHD, and had an offer of work with a maintenance company. He said: "He has been in custody since January. He hasn't just sat there. He has completed a number of impressive courses."
Lander added: "Effectively, he got involved in relation to finances, being in debt and the like to other people. He is keen to make the point that these are his first convictions in relation to the supply of class A drugs. In relation to the cocaine, he was being asked to store it, as with the money. He knows that he has let his partner down, who has to bring up those children in his absence."
Bennett, who has convictions for possession of cannabis in 2011 and drug driving in January this year, was represented by Peter White, who said: "He does appear to be in a different category to that of his co-defendant."
White added: "Albeit he is not of good character, he has not been in this type of trouble before. He had a difficult upbringing, essentially being abandoned from an early age. To his credit, he spent the majority of his life in employment, most recently as delivery driver for Uber Eats."
Sentencing and suspended sentence
Sentencing Swale, Judge Brian Cummings KC said: "Plainly, it is a significant aggravating factor that you have two previous sets of offences for drug trafficking offences. I entirely accept that this is the first occasion you have been before the courts for drug trafficking offences relating to class A drugs."
He added: "In mitigation, I accept that there is a better side to you, as indicated in your own letter and the references that have been provided. I also accept that you have tried to use your time in custody on remand productively, as demonstrated by the courses you have been on in that time."
Turning to Bennett, Judge Cummings said: "You have no relevant previous convictions. You have never previously been sentenced to imprisonment or, indeed, really risked a prison sentence."
He added: "The balance, in my judgement, comes down in your favour. This will be a suspended sentence order. No doubt you are relieved to learn that you are not going prison. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this is all over. It is not."
Bennett was handed a 15-month imprisonment suspended for two years with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days. Judge Cummings warned him: "For the next two years, that sentence of 15 months imprisonment hangs over your head. If, during the next two years, you were to commit any offence of any kind, that would place you in breach of the suspended sentence order, and the law is brutally simple. If you come back before the court in breach, the court must activate the sentence in full."
He concluded: "All the mitigation advanced on your behalf today, which has contributed to this result, those cards have all been played. They will not count again. If you come back again, expect to go to prison. It is in your hands now. It is your job to keep yourself out of prison, not mine."
