College cannabis dealer from Solihull couldn't face telling his mum the truth about his stash

Daniel Sanderson, aged 21, was exposed as a dealer after ordering two fake guns to be delivered to his house from Spain

A college cannabis dealer lied what his stash of weed was for because he could not face the prospect of telling his mother the truth. Nearly £2,000 worth of the class B drug was seized when police raided Daniel Sanderson's home in Oakley Wood Drive, Solihull.

The 21-year-old claimed it was all for personal use but his phone proved he had been supplying it to others while it also contained an image of him holding a large amount of cash. Sanderson was exposed after ordering two fake guns to his home from Spain, which were intercepted at Coventry Airport.

However it was accepted they were purely for his own interest and were not connected to his dealing. Sanderson admitted an offence of causing a realistic imitation firearm to be brought in Great Britain, possession with intent to supply cannabis and simple possession of cannabis.

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But he was spared jail at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, September 27 when he was instead sentenced to four months suspended for 18 months. The imitation firearms were intercepted by Border Force officers on July 12, 2022. One was a replica Beretta pistol while the others was a replica Colt Python revolver.

Police subsequently executed a warrant at his Solihull address at 6.24am on December 5 that year. Prosecutor Lucinda Wilmott-Lascelles said: "His mother was there, she answered the door.

"The defendant was stood on the stairs where he was then arrested. Following that a search took place. At that point the defendant said: 'They will find my weed and my knives. I don't take them outside I just like them'."

Police did find a number of knives but he was not charged in relation to those. They also discovered between £1,400 to £1,940 worth of cannabis, £300 in cash, scales, dealer bags and two iPhones.

In interview Sanderson claimed the cannabis was only for personal use. Amy Jackson, defending, explained that at the time he was 'struggling to come to terms with telling his mum the truth'.

The barrister told the court he initially took cannabis to self-medicate his psychological conditions but then developed a 'heavy addiction'. Ms Jackson said he began supplying to college friends to fund his own habit before his dealing 'got out of control' and spread to a wider circle which 'all revolved around cannabis'.

The barrister further explained that Sanderson had a 'legitimate interest' in guns, having attended shooting clubs as a child, and did not realise it was illegal to import the imitation weapons. Ms Jackson argued Sanderson was young, 'immature', had a number of mental health issues and was 'vulnerable to social isolation and forming unhealthy relationships'.

She added he had since overcome his cannabis addiction and secured a four-year engineering apprenticeship. Sanderson was ordered to pay £550 in fines as well as carry out 40 days of rehabilitation activity and 240 hours of unpaid work.

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Judge Samantha Crabb, passing sentence, said: "You are a solitary young man, obsessive and you did have a legitimate interest in guns from childhood, being a member of and attending gun clubs and shooting events with your parents.

"You had no idea bringing those items into Great Britain and possessing them was illegal and there was no effort to disguise their identity or the address where you were living."

She continued: "You had a long-standing addiction to cannabis and your use became very heavy. You used that to self-medicate the various conditions I have read about.

"I accept when your habit began to spiral out of control you began to sell cannabis initially to meet the cost of your own habit. You initially began to sell cannabis to those close to you at college but that soon began to spread outside your social circle."

But judge Crabb concluded Sanderson had since demonstrated he could 'contribute something to society' and that he had showed a 'realistic prospect of rehabilitation'.