Ex-postman supplied cocaine to friends

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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A former postman who pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine to his friends has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service.
Darren Heaney, of Harpers Quay, Spencer Road, was also ordered to spend two years on probation after he admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply and simple possession of the class A drug.

The 24-year-old, who was sacked from his job as a postman as a result of the drugs offences, also admitted attempted possession of ecstasy with intent to supply on September 25, last year.

Derry Crown Court heard that police found digital scales and clear plastic bags when they searched Heaney's home.

They also dicsovered 340 pink tablets, 5.19g of cocaine and almost £1,000 in cash in a cushion.

A prosecutor said that the pink tablets were not ecstasy but a drug that was marketed as a legal alternative to the class A drug which was banned in December last year.

The court heard that Heaney was arrested and during interview claimed that he thought he was buying ecstasy tablets at the time.

He claimed he bought the drugs from a man who owed him £500 from the sale of a motorbike and admitted that he intended to bulk out the cocaine with glucose.

A defence barrister told the court Heaney had been taking drugs since he was a teenager, comes from a good family and intended to sell the drugs to his circle of friends.

Handing down the community based sentence, Judge Desmond Marrinan said he was willing to accept there were exceptional elements in the case.
He said he did not view Heaney as a "hard nosed drug dealer" but rather a decent young man who "made a wrong decision."

The judge said Heaney was ashamed of his actions and was already suffering because he had brought his family's good name into disrepute.

He added: "You lost your job because of these offences.

When we are told that half a million people throughout the UK are about to lose their jobs, it is particularly sad to see a decent young man lose his job with Royal Mail... That is a very significant penalty, albeit a self-inflicted one for a man of a good background."

[DGP1]

Derry Crown Court heard that police found digital scales and clear plastic bags when they searched Heaney's home

Doesn't seem a lot of evidence, I know I have digital scales and clear plastic bags in my house

[norbert]

& god only knows what else too