More jail time for cocaine dealer caught in Hucknall with ‘a bit of sniff’

Dean Beeching aroused the suspicions of police officers on October 3, 2020, and, Nottingham Crown Court, when he was searched, told them he “had a bit of sniff”.

Abigail Jones, prosecuting, said, in fact he had 21 half-gram deals of cocaine, worth between £420 to £1,050, depending on their price, plus £940 in cash.

One of the messages found on his phone warned of a tracking device attached to his car.

Beeching, aged 32, has previous convictions dating back to 2008 for “a variety of offences”, including drug matters from 2009 and 2015.

He was on Crown Court bail awaiting trial for drug offences when he was arrested in Hucknall, and received a total of 42 months in prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving and possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine, in March last year.

Barry Grennan, mitigating, said: “This is the longest sentence he has served.”

He said the dad-of-two has taken thinking skills and victim awareness courses while in prison.

Beeching, currently of HMP Ranby, admitted possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

Mr Grennan said: “He is anxious to get out and get a job as a data cabling worker. He says he is now drug-free.

“They were relatively low-key offences dealing to fund his own habit. He is confident he will not go back to taking drugs.

“He knows if he commits a similar offence he will be a third-striker and subject to a mandatory minimum sentence."

Sentencing, Judge Stephen Coupland told Beeching: "Most of the court's business is linked to people who are involved with class A drugs in some way shape or form.

"Without them a large pot of criminality wouldn't be here. Your position is made worse because of your bad record.

“I hope very much when all of that sentence comes to an end you can make good on your promise to stay out of trouble and look after your family."

PC Shemane Marsh, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Thanks to the intuition of our officers, Beeching was caught red-handed with multiple wraps of cocaine that he intended to sell to others.

“The proactive stop and search by the team on patrol that day helped ensure we were able to intercept a quantity of Class A drugs before it could do any harm.

“It’s no exaggeration at all to say that drugs ruin lives, which is why we work so hard as a force to try and eradicate drugs from our streets and prosecute anyone trying to profit from them.

“We hope this sentence sends out a strong message to anyone thinking of dealing drugs across our county.”