Ageing addict forced into dealing despite telling authorities his Leeds home was 'cuckooed' by criminals
An ageing Leeds drug addict who alerted the authorities he was being pressured by dealers to sell was later caught with wraps of crack cocaine.
Aaron Crosbie was jailed this week after police found him holding the drugs after they attended his home on Lindsey Mount, Burmantofts.
But Leeds Crown Court heard there had been an element of “cuckooing” – when criminals take over the home of a vulnerable person.
Police had gone to 49-year-old Crosbie’s property on August 15 on an unrelated matter. The flat had been turned into a crack den, the court heard.
Prosecutor Oliver Connor said the police searched Crosbie and found 42 wraps of crack in a tissue worth £420. They also found messages on his phone related to drug dealing and tick lists containing customer details. He was arrested but gave a no-comment interview.
He later admitted dealing in class A drugs. He has 25 previous convictions for 49 offences, including dealing class A drugs in 2005 for which he received a 34-month jail sentence.
Mitigating, Stuart Field said Crosbie had stayed out of trouble for the past nine years, despite his chronic addiction.
He said: “He became prey to those who supplied drugs to him. He reported to the authorities what was happening. They were limited on what they could do and put a closure order in place but it left him without accommodation.
"Despite his reluctance, he eventually succumbed to selling because the pressure was great.”
He said that Crosbie suffers from ulcerated legs and has been hospitalised four times since being held on remand after his arrest.
Judge Robin Mairs jailed him for 26 months and told him: “If you stay alive until next May you celebrate your 50th birthday. With a 30-year addiction it’s a wonder that the drugs have not killed you. They have certainly had a substantial effect on your health.
"You were essentially staying at a crack house. There was an element of cuckooing. Others were putting pressure on you to trade in class A drugs and you would be supplied with drugs.
"The courts have tried in the past to help you with your addiction.”