Heroin and crack cocaine dealer jailed

When a search warrant was executed, Samuel Coggan was caught red-handed using a friend’s flat at Norfolk Court to ply his trade.

The father-of-three’s iPhone was constantly ringing with customers wanting to buy drugs and £588 was found in his jacket pocket.

Coggan (29), of Southey Rise, Longley, Sheffield, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Sheffield Crown Court after admitting possession with intent to supply the drugs.

Miss Hannah Walker, prosecuting, said officers raided the flat on August 27 last year and found four men including the tenant inside.

The tenant, Philip Ratcliffe, had been charged with permitting the premises to be used for the supply of drugs and was awaiting sentence, the court heard.

Various drug paraphernalia, cling film, wraps, razor blades and scales, were discovered, along with heroin and crack cocaine worth £1,193 on the streets.

Police uncovered the fact that Coggan had been dealing the drugs with Ratcliffe, a long-term drug user, being supplied with Class A drugs for allowing the premises to be used for dealing.

Various people had been seen visiting the flat to buy drugs on a regular basis, said Miss Walker.

Coggan was given a community order with a drug rehabilitation requirement last year for producing cannabis.

At the time of his arrest, he was subject to a four-month suspended jail term for various offences imposed by Sheffield magistrates.

Ms Vanessa Saxton, defending, said: “Pressure was brought upon him to act as a supplier of drugs which he did.”

He had troubled the courts before but had only recently become a social drug user and did not have enough cash to meet his debts, she said.

Ms Saxton added: “He accepted his culpability when arrested and was remanded on bail then later put into custody.

“His motivation was to pay off debts and satisfy his own requirements."

Coggan’s attempt at producing cannabis was “not sophisticated” and he had three children aged eight, six and three who had not seen him while he was on remand in jail, she said, adding that his relationship with his partner had now broken down.

The judge Recorder Duncan Smith ordered the confiscation of the cash and destruction of the drug equipment. 

Coggan’s suspended jail term was activated but it will run concurrently with the 42-month prison sentence.