Sale of drugs is caught on CCTV

May 9 2008 by Allison Dickinson, Chester Chronicle

A DRUG addict with a string of previous convictions, who was caught selling heroin and cocaine in Chester city centre, has been jailed.

Barnaby Clegg, 22, of Ellesmere Avenue, Upton, had been using heroin for seven months and owed a “substantial” amount of money to a dealer.

He agreed to sell drugs in the city centre to repay the debt and was given a mobile phone for users to call and make arrangements.

Clegg was caught by an eagle-eyed CCTV operative who spotted him talking to another man in Frodsham Street shortly before 4pm on October 30 last year.

The pair went out of range but re-emerged with Clegg counting out notes before stuffing them into his pocket.

The CCTV operator alerted police and Clegg was arrested in the Gorse Stacks/George Street area shortly afterwards.

He was found to have £50 in cash and was taken to Blacon police station where an intimate search revealed 22 knotted plastic bags containing heroin and cocaine with a street value of between £150 and £220.

Clegg has 75 previous convictions but his only other drug-related offence was a reprimand in August 2002 for possession of cannabis, which was at that time classified as a Class B drug.

He initially refused to talk and was reluctant to appear at Chester Magistrates’ Court in March because, according to his solicitor, he was “determined to stay out of Chester for his own safety”.

He did, however, plead guilty to two charges of possession of Class A drugs at Chester Crown Court on April 14 before returning for sentencing on Tuesday (May 6) where Judge Roger Dutton jailed him for three years.