Shropshire Star

Telford drug addicts jailed for selling cocaine to undercover police officer

A Telford couple who arrived on mountain bikes to sell heroin and crack cocaine to an undercover police officer in Shropshire have both been jailed.

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A court was told that addicts Gary Warren and Nicola Firth "operated as a team" selling the drugs to the officer on more than 20 occasions at Brookside and Stirchley in Telford.

Yesterday at Birmingham Crown Court the pair were both jailed for a total of 32 months.

Judge Richard Bond said that the defendants were habitual drug users, which was the reason for them playing a significant role as street dealers.

"You both supplied the undercover officer on many occasions, separately and together. You worked as a team," he said.

Judge Bond said Class A drugs caused misery and destroyed people's lives. Due to the way 31-year-old Firth led her life her four children had been taken away from her.

Firth, and Warren, 52, both of Blakemore, Brookside, had admitted conspiring to supply crack cocaine and heroin between October 2012, and September last year.

The court heard that the undercover officer, known as Tony, was deployed in Telford as part of a large police investigation.

He became aware of Firth and Warren and there was contact by phone and text messages and they had supplied him with drugs on numerous occasions for which Tony had paid between £20 and £30.

Mr Michael Duck QC, prosecuting, said the first meeting was at a community centre at Brookside when Firth arrived on a bike. After making a call Firth went to a block of flats and returned with "deals" of crack cocaine and heroin.

Drugs were later obtained from a man in a car and at other premises in the Brookside area. The couple's benefit was to get a small portion of the drugs they had supplied.

The officer first met Warren when he arrived with Firth for a meeting outside the Co-op store at Stirchley.

Later Tony was told to attend the couple's Brookside home to collect the drugs.

The court heard Warren had previous convictions for supplying drugs, violence, dishonesty and, along with Firth, arson.

Mr Paul Smith, for the couple, said his clients' drug addiction was "written across their bodies for all to see" and their motive was not the money, but for a share of the drugs that they had supplied.

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