'Busy' drug dealer found with £150k jailed

A drug dealer found with more than £150,000 has been jailed for five years.

Gareth Dobie, 45 and from Hartlepool, was a "busy street dealer" of Class A drugs, Teesside Crown Court heard.

When he was arrested in March, officers discovered thousands of pounds as well as mobile phones showing his criminal activity.

Dobie, of Inch Grove, admitted being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and possessing criminal property.

Recorder Thomas Moran said Dobie had been operating a drugs line and sending out "bulk texts" to get business.

He was "plainly a busy street dealer of Class A drugs", the judge said.

Dobie told probation officers not all of the money was his and he was looking after it for other people, the court heard.

Among his previous convictions were offences of dealing cannabis and possessing crack cocaine, the court heard.

Recorder Moran said Dobie "developed a dependency" on drugs but his level of involvement "went beyond merely feeding" his own habit and he had made money from the venture too.

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