Cheshire: Drug dealer had live ammunition

Stephen Leah, who ran a ‘thriving’ cannabis dealing business and dished out threats to customers who owed debts, was locked up for 18 months on Friday, July 23.

Chester Crown Court heard that firearms officers executed a search warrant at Leah’s then home on Banks Crescent in Latchford, Warrington, in April last year.

Two .22 rimfire rounds and six shotgun cartridges were discovered stashed in a bag underneath the kitchen sink.

A total of 72.9g of cannabis and associated paraphernalia, as well as counterfeit cash, was also seized from the property.

Upon analysis of the defendant’s mobile phone, police found evidence of drug dealing dating back to September 2019.

Messages stored on the phone detailed threats to users who owed debts, as well as directions to others in the supply chain.

Following his arrest, Leah claimed to have found and taken the ammunition while working on a house clearance but the ‘heavy cannabis user’ subsequently ‘forgot’ about it.

Defence barrister Mark Shanks told the court that his client discovered that his girlfriend, who was present in the public gallery, was pregnant the day after the raid and the couple now have an eight-month-old son.

Mr Shanks added: “He’s cleared his mind and his cannabis use has dropped – he doesn’t want his son to grow up around drugs.

“He wants to become a useful and productive member of society and a good father.

“I’m asking you to give him a chance and to hold back on sending him to prison immediately today – he knows he’ll have this hanging over him if he steps over the line again.”

Leah, who has eight previous convictions for 10 offences, was jailed for 20 months in September 2018 after admitting inflicting grievous bodily harm in relation to an attack on a man who had his arm stamped on and broken during an argument over a stole motorbike in Sankey Valley Park.

He was still subject to post-sentence supervision requirements when he embarked upon his drug dealing.

The 23-year-old, now of Southworth Avenue in Bewsey, pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition, possession of cannabis with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of cannabis during an earlier hearing.

Sentencing, judge Michael Leeming said: “Police executed a search warrant at the address you shared with your brother, suspecting that firearms would be found there.

“Instead, they found ammunition in a bag under the sink and six shotgun cartridges.

“They also found cannabis and paraphernalia, indicating that drug dealing was taking place.

“Police came to the view that you were a mid-level cannabis dealer.

“This was a thriving business, which had no doubt been going on for months.

“I’m satisfied that yours was a significant role with an operational or management function in a chain.

“There was no gun, even though the ammunition was live and viable, and there was no evidence that the ammunition was linked to the supply of cannabis – although they make uneasy bedfellows.

“These offences are so serious that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by an immediate custodial sentence.”

Leah will serve half of his sentence before being released on licence, and was also told to pay a victim surcharge.

Judge Leeming ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs, ammunition and phone.

Detective constable Rob Thorpe said after the sentencing: “The items seized inside the flat and the subsequent analysis from the three mobile phones showed clear evidence of Stephen Leah’s involvement as a mid-level dealer of cannabis.

“Stephen Leah made a concerted effort to conceal the ammunition inside a bag underneath the kitchen sink, in the property he shared with his brother.

“He clearly believed it would never be found and police would never conduct a raid at the address to find the subsequent paraphernalia.

“Leah could see the evidence was stacked up against him, he had no option but to admit to his crimes and face the consequences of his actions.”

His brother Marc Leah, of Banks Crescent, was fined £85 at Warrington Magistrates Court last month after the 21-year-old admitted possession of ammunition in connection with the raid.