Sutton Bridge man and his friend convicted of supplying cannabis
Two friends have been convicted of cannabis supply – despite the sweets they were dealing not having a trace of the class B drug.
Declan Simper, of Sutton Bridge, and Finlay Shorten, of Elm, fell foul of case law that says they can be guilty if they believed they were selling the drug.
At Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, the pair admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis in Kirkhams Lane, Elm, on May 7, 2021.
The hearing was told that police had stopped a red VW Golf being driven by Simper and with Shorten as the passenger.
Drugs were found in the car along with sweets in bags which had “cannabis infused” printed on the front. Tests proved there was no cannabis in the sweets.
Prosecutor Denise Holland said: “When their phones are downloaded there are messages on both which indicate cannabis supply.
“The house of Mr Shorten was searched and there was 18 grams of ketamine in the living room.”
The prosecution made a successful application for forfeiture of cash seized from the two men - £270 from 24-year-old Simper and £135 from Shorten (20).
Solicitor George Sorrell, for Shorten, said: “The ‘cannabis’ at least turned out to be some other substance.”
He added that his client, of Kirkhams Lane, had been unemployed at the time but had recently started work for a haulage firm and was seen as a hard working employee.
Alison Muir, representing Simper, of Railway Lane South, said his mother had funded private rehabilitation of his cocaine habit and he would now be working to wean himself off cannabis.
“In that period of time, he has improved significantly,” she added.
Simper was given a 12-month community order with 80 hours’ unpaid work and ordered to pay £200 in costs and victim surcharge.
Shorten, who also pleaded guilty to possession of MDMA (class A) and being concerned in the supply of ketamine (class B), admitted breaching a community order.
His sentencing was adjourned to September 9 for preparation of a response to supervision report.
He was granted unconditional bail to the next hearing.