The heroin and crack cocaine dealer used his drugs phone to ring for a lift from a police station
Mark Gilbert(Image: Merseyside Police)
A man replied “go ‘ed” as a judge jailed him for two and a half years. Mark Gilbert’s involvement in a heroin and crack cocaine trafficking operation was rumbled when he used his “graft phone” to call a taxi home from a police station.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, that the 51-year-old was connected to the supply of drugs in the Wirral area over a four-month period between July and November last year after it was found that a number used to send out a series of “flare messages”, texts advertising class A substances for sale, frequently cell sited at his address on Lancaster Avenue in Wallasey. He was also stopped by officers while in possession of the device and used it to call for a taxi home from a custody suite on another occasion while he was “helping police with another matter”.
Derek Jones, prosecuting, how this led to PCs attending the same property on November 18 and arresting Gilbert, at which stage the mobile in question was seized. The phone was subsequently found to have been used to distribute a total of 3,200 flare messages, with examples which were read out in court including “fat bits”, “on”, “best” and “three for 20”.
Some also stated only “A”, texts which were apparently “signals” indicating that suppliers were “ready to deal”. Gilbert has a total of 27 previous convictions for 62 offences, but none relating to the supply of drugs.
John Weate, defending, told the court: “I have been representing this defendant for many years, since he has been a teenager. He is someone who, over the course of many years, has had mental health issues and was diagnosed years ago with schizophrenia and suffering from anxiety and depression.
“Despite being a long time heroin addict and class A substance user, from 2021 until the Christmas of 2023, the defendant was doing reasonably well. He had been drug free for a period of two-and-a-half years.
“He had become drug free through his own efforts. He was going to Narcotics Anonymous and doing reasonably well. After Christmas 2023, he started mixing with people again which led him to relapsing.
“He fell in with the wrong crowd and started shoplifting to pay for drugs. In real terms, he was exploited to hold the graft phone. Sadly, that progress he made after many years without offending has been lost. He has got that determination to het back to where he was.”
Gilbert admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a sky blue Nike tracksuit top, he could be heard muttering “go’ed, go ‘ed, go ‘ed” as he was locked up for two years and six months.
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: “I am sure that you became involved in this enterprise due to your own addiction to class A drugs. You have been a prolific offender, committing offences of violence and numerous offences of theft to support your own habit.
“You have been able to support yourself without recourse to class A drugs for a significant period of time. It is clear that you fell in with your associates and began taking class A drugs again, and thereafter your life has spiralled.
“You have suffered for a long time with your mental health, and there has been a decline in your circumstances. I note, however, that you have used the time you have spent on remand constructively.
“You know only too well that drugs destroy the lives of addicts. Drug addiction causes a huge volume of crime and brings addicts such as yourself into the world of supply.
“It is society who must pick up the human cost of this trade. Those who involve themselves at any level in the supply of class A drugs are committing very serious offences.”