Posing Leeds drug pusher took photos of himself with bundles of cash
Dealer aroused suspicion on car-park stop
A drug dealer caught with almost £1,000 worth of substances was later found to have taken photos of himself with piles of cash.
Posing Ryan Guppy narrowly avoided being locked up at Leeds Crown Court after admitting dealing in Class A and possessing Class C drugs.
The 27-year-old was given a suspended sentence under the new, more relaxed guidelines.
Prosecutor Sean Smith said police had been patrolling Wetherby on June 24 last year when they saw Guppy pull into the car park at Crossley Park Wood and park in the most secluded corner.
As a result, they approached the car and searched Guppy and the car.
They found bags of cocaine on him, £350 cash in his pocket, and an iPhone.
That was later analysed and contained clear evidence of dealing, including delivery drop-off arrangements and money owed.
Pictures of him posing with bundles of cash which Mr Smith said was perhaps an “indication of the level of dealing that was going on”.
They searched Guppy’s home on Park Lane, Allerton Bywater, where they found a stash of blue pills, that turned out to be the Class C drug, oxandrolone, a synthetic anabolic steroid.
Guppy gave no-comment interviews to the police.
Mitigating, Charles Blatchford said: “Sadly, it’s an all-too-familiar story of someone who starts socialising, using drugs and then a debt accrues, finds themselves in hock to dealers and is forced to go out and deal.”
He said Guppy had made significant progress in the last 12 months and had a supportive family, although he said they were “ashamed and embarrassed” by his actions.
Judge Anesh Pema handed Guppy a 30-month sentence, suspended for three years.
He ordered he complete 275 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation days with probation.
He was also given a four-month electronically-tagged curfew order to keep him at home between 7pm and 7am each day.
Under new guidelines, sentences up to three years can now be suspended, compared to the previous maximum of two years.
The move is part of an attempt to ease well-documented overcrowding in prisons.