A drug dealer whose stash of heroin and cocaine was sniffed out by a police search dogs has been jailed.
Michael Young was snared by officers on April 23, when the Renault Clio he was a passenger in was stopped on the Spine Road in Northumberland as part of a crackdown into serious and organised crime.
Officers had been gathering intelligence on a number of individuals suspected to be involved in drug dealing and as part of their ongoing work they had identified a number of vehicles believed to be using the road network for criminality – including Young and his associates.
Once the car was stopped – PD Kipper from a K9 unit was tasked with following his nose – and it didn’t take long before officers from the Force’s Op Dragoon team found a quantity of cocaine and heroin in Young’s possession.
The 38-year-old was immediately arrested alongside the 37-year-old driver and the 30-year-old back-seat passenger.
And on August 18, Young, of no fixed abode appeared at Newcastle Crown Court where he admitted possession with intent to supply heroin, cocaine and possession of diamorphine. He was jailed for 33 months and a forfeiture and destruction order was issued.
Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Laura Fairley said: “This case is a great example of what can be achieved when the various teams from within the Force work together and I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work.
“We know the lengths people like Young will go to, to try and make money and keep their illicit businesses running – which is why we continue to do all that we can to disrupt this type of criminality – from policing our road networks, to carrying out surveillance and intelligence gathering to using our incredible sniffer dogs to help us take swift action.
“We will continue this work under the banner of Operation Sentinel and would ask anyone with information about criminality to get in touch.”
The other two men – aged 37 and 30 – have since been released under investigation pending further enquiries.
