A MAN who ran a mobile drug shop with his father has been jailed for two and a half years.
James Jago and his father William were assisted by driver John Blower, who was jailed for 18 months, in the operation selling crack cocaine near the Northgate Arena.
William Jago, 49, who pleaded guilty on an earlier occasion, will be sentenced on June 16 pending a pre-sentence report.
The court heard how the three Liverpudlians were spotted on Victoria Road by a CCTV operator on October 3 last year.
Mark Connor, prosecuting, told how deals were witnessed on three occasions that morning after a Ford Fiesta was flagged down. The men were apprehended by police at 11.55am after James Jago disappeared down an alleyway to conduct a deal.
He was seen to remove drugs from his mouth and nine wraps of crack cocaine weighing 963mg and bearing his DNA were recovered from a railway line.
The court heard the powder was 85% pure, with a street value of £90.
Mr Connor said in the 37 days prior to October 3, James Jago had received 155 calls from eight different phone booths used by addicts to place orders.
On that day, 15 calls were made. Mr Connor alleged Blower had assisted in driving and was the banker, with £662.75 found in his possession.
Ben Morris, defending James Jago, 25, said he was an 'amateur' and 'fairly low down in the food chain'.
Gerald Jones, defending Blower, 50, said the money he had was not related to dealing but was to pay a deposit on a motorbike.
He said Blower had done no more than drive the car and witness the deals.
Judge Stephen Clarke told the men: 'This was virtually a mobile shop.
'Any court has a duty to discourage those who involve themselves in the sharp end of drug-dealing.
'At times it is like a tidal wave and whether it can be stopped is debatable.'
A proceeds of crime hearing has been pencilled in for August 18 to recover the money made.
After the hearing, Sgt Matt Davies, who led the operation, said: 'I hope the sentences passed send out a clear message to others involved in the drugs network that the police authority will not tolerate drug dealing.'
rob.devey@cheshirenews.co.uk
