Injured scaffolder turned to dealing cannabis (From The Oxford Times)

Injured scaffolder turned to dealing cannabis

10:50am Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News

AN INJURED scaffolder turned to drug dealing in an “idiotic” attempt to pay off his debts.

Paul Rogers was found with 19 bags of cannabis and more than £3,500 in cash after being seen acting suspiciously by plain clothes police.

The 30-year-old was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday after admitting possessing a Class B drug with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.

Jonathan Stone, prosecuting, said Rogers was arrested in Abingdon on February 10. Cannabis, worth about £190, and £3,688 in cash was found when his home was searched.

Lucy Ffrench, defending, said her client had worked as a scaffolder until suffering a serious accident in August 2011. Rogers, of Springfield Drive, Abingdon, owed about £1,000 and bailiffs were calling at his mother’s house, so he decided to deal cannabis for a month to pay it off.

Judge Julian Hall gave him a nine-month suspended sentence with 120 hours unpaid work. He told him: “You took an idiotic way to try to discharge your debts.”