Telford man, 31, sold drugs ‘to pay off debt’
A Telford man who was pressured into selling drugs due to a debt he had racked up has avoided jail.
Greg Butler, 31, of Burford, Brookside, was selling cannabis because he had a £350 drug debt, Shrewsbury Crown Court was told.
He admitted being involved in the supply of a class B drug and was given a suspended sentence.
He appeared alongside Christina Gray, 32, also of Burford, Brookside, Telford, and she was given a community order after admitting supply class B drugs or offering to supply.
The court heard that the offences happened between January 1, 2016 and June 23, 2017.
The court was told that Gray took in Butler, who had a broken ankle, because he had nowhere to live.
The pair were arrested after a drugs warrant was executed and phones and scales were recovered.
Butler said he was a user of cannabis and had been pressured by drug dealers to sell for them, but he made no profit from it.
He said he was down and stressed from the offences and had a £350 debt with dealers.
Gray said she knew there was a package in the freezer and had accepted a package when it was brought to the door.
Butler was given 39 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work, with Gray given a 12-month community order.
