Jail for Douglas man who told police: 'There's a kilo of cannabis under the seat'

56-year-old was trafficking drugs to pay off debt

A Douglas man who owes a Liverpool drug dealer more than £100,000 has been jailed after being caught trafficking drugs to clear his debt.

Frank John Thomas, of Belmont Terrace, was stopped by police on Kensington Road in Douglas at 5.40pm on 24 November last year.

Officers could smell cannabis coming from his work van and he admitted to them: "There’s a kilo of cannabis under the seat."

In total more than 1,200 grams of the Class B substance was recovered, worth more than £23,000, along with eight bundles of cash, and drug paraphernalia.

A further search of his home recovered another 8.4 grams of cannabis which had a street value of £168.

The 56-year-old later admitted possessing cannabis resin and bush with intent to supply, personal possession of the drug, and having £13,985 in criminal property.

During sentencing at Douglas Courthouse Thomas’ basis of plea was read to the court which highlighted that he was in ‘significant’ debt to a drug dealer from the United Kingdom.

This, the court was told, was due to the fact he’d lost 10 kilos of cannabis when he was convicted of a similar offence in 2016.

Thomas alleged that an associate of the dealer contacted him, on 23 November, and put pressure on him to collect and sort money and drugs in order to reduce the debt; Thomas said he was advised it would be collected from him two days later.

The father of six told the court he believed he was at risk of violence if he didn’t comply as he was aware of the dealer sending ‘fellow Liverpudlians’ to the Island to inflict grievous bodily harm on those who were in debt.

Thomas’ advocate described his client’s decision as ‘awful’. He said his role in the operation was ‘time-limited’ but conceeded: “Of course he is assisting the wider criminal network.”

Sending Thomas to prison for 18 months Deemster Graeme Cook described him as having a ‘chequered criminal history’.

Discounting the duress argument the deemster told Thomas: “Unless there is more to that allegation it is not something that I can take into account.”