Former Morley gym owner forced into growing cannabis and dealing crack cocaine over drug debt
A former gym owner was caught selling drugs after dealers turned his home over to a cannabis farm to help him clear his debt.
John Dye was pulled over by police who found wraps of crack cocaine. But when they searched his home, they found the grow which was worth up to £23,000.
He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after admitted dealing in Class A drugs and being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug.
Prosecutor Carmel Pearson said officers pulled Dye’s car over just after 4pm on November 3 last year in Morley.
They spotted wraps of crack cocaine on the seat, so searched him and found another 16 wraps in his trousers.
They also found £271 in cash. The total value of the drugs was around £200. They went to his home on Wakefield Road, Morley, and found the cannabis grow consisting of 43 plants.
Dye appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds, where he was being held on remand. He has 10 previous convictions for 15 offences, largely for drugs.
Mitigating, Nicholas Hammond said Dye was “clearly a drug user” but having been jailed for two years for dealing in 2010, he had got clean and had turned his life around. He managed to stay out of trouble from 2010 until 2022.
He said the 51-year-old bought a gym in Morley, set up a decorating business and met a woman with whom he had two children.
But after she was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he fell back into drugs to cope, which led to a breakdown of their relationship.
Dye moved in with his mother, but she was diagnosed with dementia and she had to be placed into a home.
Mr Hammond said that having fallen into debt with dealers, Dye was put to work in selling drugs, and they persuaded him to install the cannabis farm.
He said: “He went along with it, funding his own addiction and ended up where he is today.”
Judge Neil Clark acknowledged the gap in Dye’s offending but said he must “follow the guidelines”, jailing him for 31 months.