A drug dealer who used Instagram and the Telegram messaging app to advertise cocaine and amphetamines for sale has been jailed.
John Gallagher, 35, used social media apps to make money from drug users across Aberdeen.
The police linked the accounts with Gallagher by matching his clothes with the ones worn in video clips which they also identified had been recorded in his home.
When detectives searched Gallagher’s address in Overhill Gardens, Bridge of Don, they seized trainers, shorts, trousers and a jumper identical to those seen online.
Gallagher pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of the drugs during a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh last month.
During those proceedings, the prosecutor Graeme Jessop KC told the court: “Images of the living room and kitchen areas were obtained and noted to match that in the various images and videos posted advertising drugs for sale.”
Mr Jessop explained: “Intelligence was received by Police Scotland that the accused was involved in the supply of cocaine, by using social media apps, including Instagram and Telegram.”
Gallagher, who moved from Liverpool to Aberdeen in 2019, operated an Instagram username of ABZ2LPOOL2023 and a Telegram account connected with ABZ2LPOOL420.
Mr Jessop said: “Within these profiles, various drug price lists, images of drugs and videos advertising drugs for sale were posted.
“Each account has a similar profile image of a cartoon depicting a male smoking, wearing a baseball cap with the number 100 on it and the title ABZ2LPOOL,” he revealed.
On July 13 2023, police raided a flat on Aberdeen’s Morrison Street that appeared vacant.
Inside they found cocaine with a potential value of £51,000 and £12,000 worth of amphetamine.
They also discovered disposable gloves, measuring scales, plastic bags and a ‘tick list’ of drug debt.
Gallagher’s DNA was forensically recovered from used disposable gloves and his fingerprints were also detected on a roll of plastic bags and on a box of disposable gloves.
In December that same year, the police seized cocaine and heroin from a flat in King Street, Aberdeen.
An iPhone was also confiscated on which there were messages from a Telegram account linked to Gallagher that advertised the sale of ‘flake’ – a street name for cocaine.
Officers visited a flat at Marischal Court in Aberdeen and an address in Balgownie Way on February 22 last year.
It followed a tip-off that Gallagher was storing drugs at the properties.
The occupier of the Marischal Court flat claimed he had been dealing for Gallagher for a few months and allowed drugs to be stored at the property.
A total of £945 was seized along with scales.
Police officers forced entry to the Balgownie Way address and found cocaine worth up to £14,200 on the streets in a hall cupboard.
Gallagher’s DNA and fingerprints were found on packaging for the drugs.
The court heard that Gallagher had nine previous convictions for drugs offences and was locked up for heroin trafficking by Liverpool Crown Court while still a teenager.
Defence lawyer tells court of his client’s ‘difficult childhood’
On Friday, Gallagher reappeared in the dock to be sentenced by Judge Lady Ross, who had previously ordered reports on him.
His defence advocate Lorenzo Alonzi said his client experienced poor mental health and a “difficult childhood”.
He added: “He left school without qualifications and he became involved with no qualifications.
“He has experienced paranoia and anxiety and has been admitted to hospital.
“In his adult life, he had a child who had later died. He is now in a new relationship which will be interrupted by the inevitable prison sentence.”
The latest drugs offence committed by Gallagher, who already had previous similar convictions, triggered legislation that stated the repeated drug dealer should receive a minimum prison term of seven years.
‘You have a bad record of previous convictions’
Mr Alonzi tried to persuade Lady Ross that exceptional circumstances surrounded his client’s offending, however, the judge disagreed.
She discounted the seven-year term to five years and 219 days due to Gallagher’s guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.
Passing sentence, Lady Ross told him: “You have a bad record of previous convictions which include crimes of violence and ones of being involved in the supply of drugs.
“I have taken account of the submissions made on your behalf and I have taken account of your previous convictions.
“In my view, the circumstances of the offence mean that the minimum term applies in your case.
“However, it will be discounted to five years and 219 days.”
The judge also told Gallagher that she hoped that he would take advantage of the “opportunities” for rehabilitation that he’ll receive while in jail.
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