Double win for Torbay police as coke dealers caged

Police in Torbay have scored a double win after two dealers were locked up for supplying large amounts of cocaine on the English Riviera. The two men, convicted separately in unrelated cases, were sentenced to a combined total of seven years at Exeter Crown Court.

Joseph Beard, 21, of Roundhill Road, Torquay, threw an Armani bag into a hedgerow after being seen acting suspiciously in a park in Paignton. Drugs worth thousands of pounds were later found at his home.

In another case, Patrick Killarney, a 31-year-old from Torquay, took the time to colour-code bags of drugs at a holiday park in Paignton. The street value of narcotics was almost £30,000.

Joseph Beard

On September 23 Beard was seen to be avoiding police in Young's Park, the court was told. Police moved in an found he had placed a black Armani backpack in a hedgerow. Inside the bag was £575 in cash, a bank card and white powder. A Nokia phone was constantly ringing.

Police searched his home and found cannabis and cocaine in three drawers. The street value of the cocaine was £4,360.

Block messages were found on the Nokia advertising the sale of drugs and a price list for cannabis was found.

It was not the first time Beard had been caught dealing. In December of last year he was jailed for 26 months for supply. At the time the judge slammed Beard for being "profoundly stupid" and seduced by a false gangster lifestyle.

He had only recently been released for his earlier crime when he was caught in Young's Park. Paul Dentith, defending, said Beard got a job in Exeter when he was released but his licence conditions made it impossible. He said he then fell back in with his old social network in Torquay.

Beard admitted offences of possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis.

"He moved back to Torquay and found, because of his previous convictions, that he was inundated with requests to supply drugs," said Mr Dentith. A pre-sentence report said he is immature for his age, exposed to drug use from a young age and influenced by peer pressure.

He was jailed for three years.

Patrick Killarney

On September 18 police from the South Devon pro-active team went to the Hoburne caravan park in Paignton and watched a known drug user arrive, enter a caravan and leave in a taxi.

The car was stopped and the man found with multiple wraps. Killarney was inside the caravan surrounded by a large amount of drugs that he had been bagging and providing to the drugs runner.

The wraps were colour-coded to distinguish between crack cocaine and cocaine. His phone showed messages linked to dealing.

The total street value of the drugs found was just over £29,000. He pleaded guilty to two offences of possession with intent to supply and possessing criminal property. It turned out he had been dealing Class A drugs in the Bay for the last two years and asked for a number of similar offences to be taken into consideration.

The 31-year-old, of Mincent Hill, Torquay, has 23 previous crimes to his name, many for violence. Paul Dentith, defending, said Killarney had long been addicted to drugs. His case was a "depressingly familiar" one of a man selling to pay off debts.

"The amount of drugs showed you were acting more as a wholesaler," [than a street dealer], said Judge James Adkin.

He was jailed for four years.

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