Teen drug vendor who lived lavish way of life jailed

Benjamin Harry Shannon was 19 when officers searched his house in Mill Street, Prees, close to Whitchurch, in November 2020. Inside they discovered £1,675 in money, hashish, three telephones and weapons together with a baton and two machetes.

Shrewsbury Crown Court ‘s Telford Justice Centre heard that messages recovered from his telephones confirmed he had been dealing hashish and ketamine over a “very substantial period of time” from July 2019 to December 2020. Pictures additionally confirmed him with “wads of cash”.

The courtroom was instructed on Friday, March 20, he used the earnings to purchase designer items and journey broadly, residing a life-style “beyond what was expected for a usual 19‑year‑old”.

Telford Justice Centre. (Image: Newsquest.)

Shannon’s house was searched after police stopped a BMW at Firestone House months earlier on August 3. The automobile was pushed by 21‑12 months‑outdated Harry Taylor , with 18‑12 months‑outdated Jakub Molenda as a passenger.

A bike officer found two massive luggage containing 797.5g of hashish within the automobile. An extra 271.04g of ketamine was discovered at Firestone House – a property for which Molenda had a key – together with a cellphone hidden in his underwear. Another 14.5g bag of hashish was later present in Taylor’s bed room.

Now aged 24, Shannon wrote a letter to the decide expressing regret and acknowledging the influence of his actions on his household. “In prison, I realised how precious freedom is,” he mentioned. “Family means everything to me.”

In mitigation, his barrister Nina Reinbach mentioned Shannon’s naivety, immaturity and impulsivity contributed to his offending, telling the courtroom: “Young men particularly can be quite stupid, however there is an opportunity that he can learn from his mistakes. Custody will do no good for him or society in general.”

Molenda’s consultant, Kevin Jones , mentioned his consumer had been hooked on the medication he was promoting however had since stopped utilizing them.

“He found himself initially in drug debt but then into drug profit,” Mr Jones mentioned. “He has since seen first-hand the harm drugs can do. He doesn’t seek sympathy. He knew it was wrong.”

Danny Smith , representing Taylor, instructed the courtroom the defendant turned concerned in drug dealing as a manner to slot in, having “always been the outsider at school”. Taylor has since suffered life‑altering mind accidents after falling from a second‑ground constructing, leaving him unable to work.

“These are consequences of the first decision to take cannabis,” Mr Smith instructed the courtroom. “It’s destructive.”

Sentencing the trio, Judge Trevor Meegan mentioned rural communities equivalent to Prees have been “particularly vulnerable” to drug provide networks.

He mentioned: “Cannabis and ketamine may be Class B drugs and are recreationally used up and down the county each weekend, but they are still illegal and can often lead to progression to hard drugs.”

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Shannon was jailed for 15 months for worrying within the provide of hashish and ketamine and should serve 40 per cent of the sentence in custody.

Molenda, of Wayland Road, Whitchurch, acquired an eight‑month jail sentence, suspended for 2 years, for possessing hashish. He should full 250 hours of unpaid work and shall be topic to a 7pm to 7am electronically monitored curfew for 2 months.

Taylor, of Green Corse Wood, Whitchurch, was handed a 12‑month group order for possessing hashish, together with a six‑month drug rehabilitation requirement and a 3‑month electronically monitored curfew. He should additionally pay £1,000 in courtroom prices.