A young dealer has been jailed for three years for running a ‘drugs shop’.
Daniel Cachia, 26, of Willaston Crescent, Douglas, admitted four counts of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs - namely, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine and pregabalin.
Sentencing him to a total of 36 months in jail, Deemster Graeme Cook said that Cachia essentially had a drugs shop.
Prosecutor Hazel Carroon told the Court of General Gaol Delivery that on December 20, 2024 police executed a misue of drugs warrant at an address in Douglas.
Inquiries led to the defendant who was arrrested and had his two mobile phones seized.
A forensic download of the phones’ chat logs revealed evidence of involvement in dealing drugs between September 20 and November 30 that year.
The message revealed that Cachia marketed strips of pregabalin for sale, with a minimum of five strips of the class C drug at a value of £150.
One message stated that he only had ‘white’ - slang for cocaine - for sale. He was hoping to get at least 1g in his possession and was marketing the drug in eighth of a gram and ‘oner’ - 1g - deals.
Police believed the minimum amount of cocaine he was involved in supplying was 4.5g, with a street value of £450.
Other messages referred to cannabis and ketamine being available for sale.
The court heard that the offences took place just 21 days into a suspended sentence handed down for possession with intent to supply cannabis.
Defence advocate Helen Lobb said her client had himself been a victim of the illicit drugs trade, having been exploited as a vulnerable teenager.
She told the court: ‘The drugs supplied were drugs to which Mr Cachia was addicted. He was doing this to fund his own habit.’
The court heard that the defendant had been working hard to rehabilitate himself.