Chapelford dealer Nathan Duckworth jailed for three years

A DRUG dealer was rumbled after police carried out a strip-search and discovered his suspicious ‘to-do list’ and stash of hundreds of pounds worth of class A drugs.

Nathan Duckworth, of Denver Drive, Chapelford, alerted on-duty officers to him after they noticed the defendant involved in a ‘hand to hand exchange’ on a street they were patrolling in Warrington.

Duckworth, 29, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court via video link on Tuesday, 28, after pleading guilty to charges of possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Prosecuting, Alaric Walmsley said the incident took place on February 9, when police officers approached Duckworth after witnessing the exchange and performed the search.

The officers found Duckworth in possession of crack cocaine, heroin, a Samsung phone and a burner phone, £20 in cash, as well as a note titled ‘Nathan's to-do list’ which listed how the defendant planned to split up his stash to sell.

Mr Walmsley said how upon further investigation it had been found that the offender had a total of 11.3g of crack cocaine with the potential street value of £1,300. He also had 6.7g of heroin worth a street value of £460.

The Samsung phone which had been recovered was found to have messages on referring to drugs, while the ‘to-do list’ a drug expert said had slang terms used in drug dealing including a note written ‘do a 14 up into singles’ and another saying, ‘do a seven up in eight’.

He was arrested that day and brought in for questioning where he denied any involvement in drug dealing and told Cheshire Police the drugs were ‘for his own use’, the two phones belonged to someone else and the £20 note was for a haircut.

The same day, Duckworth had also been found in possession of an offensive weapon.

Defending, Phillip Tulley said the defendants ‘accepts’ the facts of the case and that he has had a ‘long history’ of drug misuse.

"He was involved in a relatively small street deal when he was using drugs," he said.

Mr Tulley also referred to how Duckworth referenced in the report to how ‘ashamed’ he is of his actions.

"He is a father, and he wants to have access to his children in the future. He is a man in my opinion who is capable of leading a normal life."

The Judge concluded by stating that the defendant had a ‘significant role’ in the charges put to him but also mentioned how he has no previous convictions of drug trafficking.

Duckworth was handed a combined sentence of three years in custody for both charges, of which he will serve half.

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