A drug dealer got a nasty festive surprise when he spent Christmas Day in custody.

Paul Clint Shields and another man were arrested at the Isle of Man Airport on Christmas Eve back in 2023.

Police suspected him and the other man of being involved in drug production, and they were taken to Noble’s Hospital in Douglas for a search, but no drugs were found.

However, two phones seized were later found to show extensive evidence of drug dealing. Shields spent that Christmas Day being interviewed by officers from the Isle of Man Constabulary.

Shields, 48, of York Road, Douglas, previously admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and another of being concerned in the supply of heroin.

He appeared at the Court of General Gaol Delivery in Douglas on Thursday to be sentenced.

Hazel Carroon, prosecuting, told the court Shield was suspected of being involved in the production of drugs and was arrested on December 24, 2023 at Ronaldsway airport after arriving on an easyJet flight from Liverpool.

Information on two phones seized – both of which belonged to Shields - was subsequently downloaded by police officers.

The next day, Shields was interviewed by police but gave a largely ‘no comment’ interview.

A series of text and social media messages were discovered which provided extensive evidence that Shields had been involved in drug dealing during a period from January 2023 to December 2023.

There were a number of messages from people asking Shields for drugs with references to ‘W’ – meaning ‘white’ (cocaine) – and ‘B’ – meaning ‘brown’ (heroin).

Other messages found were complaining about the quality of the drugs.

One complained the cocaine had been ‘totally bashed’, meaning it had been heavily cut with another agent.

Other messages involved Shields asking ‘customers’ for money and offering more drugs as an incentive to pay up.

Another message showed Shields had sold drugs amounting to at least £1,000.

In total, police officers found Shields had been involved in dealing at least nine grammes of cocaine and seven grammes of heroin.

Shields has a long list of previous convictions for drug possession and received a 10-year sentence for drug dealing in 2011.

In mitigation, advocate David Reynolds told the court that his client was dealing at a low level.

He added: ‘This is somebody who has had issues with drugs for a significant period of time. He has lived a chaotic lifestyle.

‘He has a young daughter, and he wasn’t around at Christmas in 2023 and he won’t be there for her this Christmas.

‘He has been to Motiv8 for support and is seeking stability in his life for his daughter’s sake.’

Shields was jailed for five years three months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine offence and four years concurrently for the heroin offence.

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