'Hopeless' drug dealers caught transporting their wares on a tandem

Two Barnsley drug dealers were caught when police spotted them pedalling around on a tandem reports The Star. Josh Rollinson and Jack Prince were stopped at 12.30am on August 5 and were found to be carrying several grams of ketamine. “This could only happen in Barnsley,” said Judge Michael Murphy. “It’s not exactly Miami Vice.”

At Sheffield Crown Court, Louise Gallagher, prosecuting, said that the pair had appeared to be nervous and agitated when police stopped them.

“Officers recovered from Prince seven bags of a white powder in his wallet which was 3.63g of ketamine, a class B drug. It seemed to be split into half-gram deals and had a value of between £72-108.

“Rollinson, when searched, had a bag of white powder in his trouser pocket. It was 28mg of ketamine. When police officers attended Rollinson’s home address, in his wardrobe they found a package containing 11.9g of skunk cannabis worth £120. The Crown accepts this was for personal use.”

Both men admitted possession of a class B drug with intent to supply. Rebecca Tanner, representing Prince, said: “In respect of the operation, this is not sophisticated as you can tell from the method of transport.”

The court heard that Prince had ceased using drugs, while Rollinson had reduced his cannabis use from £20 per day to £30 per week. Prince was also described by his employer as ‘a right little grafter’ while Rollinson, who has a five-year-old daughter, was said to be living with his mother who had suffered a mental breakdown.

Judge Murphy said:

“There are good things to be said for you both but when it comes to acting as drug dealers, you are utterly hopeless. You are going to be caught if you are dabbling in this again because you are hopeless. Cycling around Barnsley on a tandem past midnight is going to get you stopped.”

The pair received a suspended sentence of eight months in prison and 120 hours of unpaid work. It is not known whether they had been riding a push-me-pull-you tandem.