An Antrim man was jailed for ten months today (Tuesday) for eight drug offences including supplying high-purity cocaine.
When he has completed his prison sentence, David Storey will spend an additional ten months on supervised licence. The 51-year old appeared at Belfast Crown Court where he was sentenced by Judge Roseanne McCormick KC.
He pleaded guilty to two separate sets of offences - one dating back to October 2022 and the other committed in December 2022. Regarding the first set, they arose following a search of Storey’s Firmount Drive home on October 4, 2022.
During the search, a quantity of drugs were located including cocaine with a purity of 72%. Storey subsequently pleaded guilty to five charges - namely possessing cocaine with intent to supply, possessing the Class A drugs methylamphetamine, MDMA and psilocin and also possessing cannabis. He also admitted three counts of possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply on December 30, 2022.
The court heard these charges arose from Storey posting packages containing cocaine, MDMA and methylamphetamine which were seized by the PSNI.
It emerged during today’s sentencing that whilst on Probation for previous, similar offences Storey relapsed into drug use but was not truthful with Probation about this. His barrister Jonpaul Shields described Storey as a man whose “long-standing” drug addiction dates back to the 90s.
Mr Shields said Storey has taken pro-active steps to address his substance misuse issues but said his client was “not fully open” with Probation about his relapse.
The defence barrister revealed that whilst Storey has been engaging well with addiction services, he now acknowledges that after meeting a friend in a bar who offered him cocaine, he accepted it when under the influence of alcohol.
Mr Shields added that Storey used to run a tattoo business and whilst currently unemployed, he is “hoping to get back to some form of work” in a bid to bring stability into his life.
Judge McCormick acknowledged the steps Storey has taken to “rehabilitate himself” but noted the “dishonest dialogue” he offered to Probation regarding his relapse and the failing of a drugs test.
She also noted that regarding the offending in December 2022 linked to the parcels of drugs, the high purity of the cocaine seized “shows that he was trusted in that supply chain”.
As well as imposing the 20-month sentence, Judge McCormick also issued a Destruction Order for all the drugs seized by police.
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