A ‘hardworking’ dad-of-five turned to drug dealing after Christmas in a bid to make some ‘quick money’.
Dewayne Frater was spotted by police in a car in Longsight. The grey Ford Focus Frater had been sat in, days after Christmas last year, was found to contain cocaine, MDMA, cannabis and ketamine.
“Following on from Christmas, he was offered the opportunity of making quick money,” his barrister Damien Zelazowski told Manchester Crown Court. Frater, 34, avoided jail after a judge was told that he was ‘hard-working’ and supported his family through legitimate work as a delivery driver.
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Prosecutors told how Frater was noticed by police officers who were on patrol on Hathersage Road on December 28, 2023. The police had intelligence that the grey Ford Focus in which Frater was sitting alone in had been linked to ‘occupants carrying weapons’.
“Of course that was found not to be the case,” prosecuting barrister Nick Roxborough said. Frater ‘appeared nervous’ while being questioned by the officers. He ‘became obstructive’ and after he attempted to ‘pull away’ from police he was handcuffed.
Frater was searched and officers found he had three mobile phones. Several snap bags of cannabis were also discovered in the vehicle.
The Focus was taken away to a garage for a further search, where quantities of ketamine, cocaine and MDMA were found within a ‘loose panel’ in the centre console. The total value of the drugs was said to be between £1,765 and £2,695.
His phones were analysed, with messages revealing he was acting under the orders of others. Mr Zelazowski, who described the defendant as a ‘hard-working young man’, said: “It is to this defendant’s credit that he is supporting all of his family.”
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He noted that an expert who analysed Frater’s phones told how he was at the ‘lowest tier’ of involvement within the drug supply chain. Mr Zelazowski said Frater was given orders by a superior.
He said that Frater’s job is not fantastically well numerated’, and that the defendant now ‘deeply regrets’ his decision after being offered the chance to make ‘quick money’. Judge Alan Conrad KC said that after a ‘great deal of consideration’, he could avoid sending Frater to prison.
He said of the defendant’s children: “You do the right thing by them. You have a good work history and you have stayed in work as a delivery driver.”
Judge Conrad ruled that there was ‘considerable personal mitigation’ in Frater’s case, which allowed him to pass a suspended prison sentence. Frater was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
He was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, and ten rehabilitation activity requirement days. Frater, of Barbara Castle Square, Ardwick, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a class A drug with intent to supply, and two counts of possessing a class B drug with intent to supply.
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