A man with learning difficulties who was discovered in an Aberdeen flat with Class A drugs was being exploited by a criminal gang, a court has heard.
Renaldo Dunkley, 21, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted being concerned in the supply of nearly £1,800 worth of cocaine from a flat near the Mounthooly area of the city.
More than £500 in cash and various mobile phones were also discovered by police during the raid.
Dunkley’s solicitor told the court that his client had been targeted by criminal gangs in England due to his learning difficulties and had subsequently had a “massive wakeup call”.
Group told police drugs were being dealt from flat
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson told the court that on March 17 2022, police attended at a flat on Jute Street, Aberdeen, on an unrelated matter when they saw three people leave the block.
They were stopped by officers and admitted to them that they had been there to purchase drugs.
One of them stated that they had tried to make contact with someone called ‘MJ’ on a mobile phone and gave the police the number.
It was stated that the group had sourced drugs from this number on a previous occasion.
Police officers then forced entry to the property where Dunkley and a number of co-accused were found inside.
Dunkley was in the living room where police found £535 in cash and various mobile phones, one of which matched the number they had just been given by the group outside.
A further search of the flat uncovered a number of packages of cocaine with a total street value of £1,720.
During a police interview, one of Dunkley’s co-accused told police that they were members of the ‘MJ’ group and that they were supplying controlled drugs from that address.
In the dock, Dunkley pleaded guilty to one charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
‘This is not a world he wants to enter again’
His solicitor, Liam Mcallister, told the court that Dunkley had been targeted and used by criminal gangs in England due to the fact that he was young and had learning difficulties.
The solicitor also stated that his client turned his life around since his offending and recently became a father.
“He was ripe for exploitation by these types of gangs who use people like him to sell drugs,” Mr Mcallister said.
“Mr Dunkley has had a massive wake-up call, and this is not a world he wants to enter again.
“He knows he will be punished and should be punished.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Dunkley that he had admitted an “extremely serious offence” and had travelled from England to Aberdeen for the purpose of selling drugs.
“You will know that the supply of Class A drugs causes tremendous damage and harm to people in communities here and you contributed to that trade in Aberdeen” he said.
“I accept that you are not in charge of the drug dealing or were running the operation, but you were expected to take most of the risk for minimal personal gain.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Miller made Dunkley, of Lacey Street, Dewsbury, subject to a community payback order with supervision for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
He also ordered Dunkley to take part in a drug dealer’s rehabilitation programme.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.