A man was seen jumping from a window when police arrived, a court heard
Two men were found with substantial amounts of cash and Class A drugs when eagle-eyed patrolling police officers spotted a drug deal in broad daylight in a Hull street. Wraps of cocaine and heroin, mobile phones and a passport were seized after one of the men was seen jumping from a window of a property, a court heard.
Martynian Siwak, 26, of Alfred Gelder Street, Hull, and Santino Horwat, 26, of Outing Close, Southend-on-Sea, admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply. Mahdev Singh Sachdev, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that officers were on patrol in Albany Street, Hull, at 10.30am on July 9 when they saw a street deal going on.
They quickly arrested Siwak and found him with wraps of cocaine and heroin. They also seized a mobile phone, keys and a passport.
At a nearby address, they saw a man jump out of a window. He was arrested moments later and he was found with £494 cash, two mobile phones and cannabis.
When officers searched the house, they found 47 wraps of cocaine and some heroin and a knife. In police interviews, Horwat said he had not been at the property for a long time since moving from Essex. He had convictions for 12 previous offences, including possession of cannabis. Siwak had only a single conviction, the court heard.
Mr Sachdev said there was no evidence that they were part of a gang. But the police officer investigating the case believed they were part of a County Lines network.
“There is no management role or influence on the operation,” said Mr Sachdev. “It is only significant financial gain.”
Hannah Turner, mitigating, said Siwak played a lesser role. He had been brought up by his grandparents and has lived in the UK for many years. He felt shame that his addiction to drugs had blighted his life.
Recorder Brian Whitehead said that Siwak was selling “fairly large quantities of drugs”. He said: “Were you at an operational level or at the lowest level?
“I say it is a lesser role. You have a previous conviction for robbery. But I can suspend the sentence because the probation service believes you can be worked with.”
Siwak was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, 200 hours’ unpaid work and 20 days’ rehabilitation. Recorder Whitehead told him: “I hope this is a wake up call for you. You can’t carry on like this.”
Billy Torbett, representing Horwat, said that the defendant still had a level of immaturity. He asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. Horwat’s case was adjourned until December 18.