Telford man, 28, found guilty of drugs charge
A 28-year-old Telford man whose fingerprints were found on packages recovered by police has been convicted of conspiring to supply drugs.
A jury at Birmingham Crown Court took less than two hours yesterday to find Gino Dhillon guilty following a four-day trial.
Judge Paul Farrer QC adjourned sentence for reports until next month and Dhillon was remanded in custody.
Dhillon, of Dalby Close in Leegomery, had denied conspiring with Andrew Lowe and others to supply a Class B drug in January and February, 2013. The jury heard that the drug – fluoromethcathinone, commonly called M-CATT – was found by police at the home of Lowe, a well-known dealer, two years ago.
Dhillon's fingerprints were on the bags which contained a kilo of drugs with an estimated street value of up to £30,000. Police also linked him to the drug deal from details of calls and text messages on a number of mobile phones. Mr Gerard Quirke, prosecuting, had told the jury that 43-year-old Lowe had admitted being involved in the conspiracy and described him as a "drug dealer of considerable experience".
Dhillon was described as "an upstream supplier" and had provided the kilo of M-CATT to Lowe who was to break it down to sell it on. Mr Quirke said the drugs were found under a bed at Lowe's home inside a silver package, wrapped inside a green bag which was, in turn, inside a supermarket carrier bag. One of Dhillon's prints was found on the silver package and 23 prints were traced on the green bag. Police also recovered 20 mobile phones from his address.
During a 40-day period in early 2013 the defendant had contacted Lowe, a man he said was his plumber, on 270 occasions.
Dhillon denied all knowledge of the drugs and suggested Lowe must have removed the bag from his home and claimed the phones linked to the deal were used by his relatives.
At an earlier hearing Lowe, of Burnell Road, Admaston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and his case was adjourned for sentence.
