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29
May
Harrogate man who imported nearly half a kilo of premium 'Cali weed' spared jail
A man who imported nearly half a kilo of premium cannabis from the USA has been spared prison.
Alfie Fox, 21, who was living in Harrogate at the time, was arrested after Border Force officials seized a “suspicious package” containing 453g of the Class B drug at Stansted Airport in March 2022, York Crown Court heard.
The package, which was destined for an address in York Place, Harrogate, contained ‘Cali weed’, a premium-quality, Californian variety of marijuana.
Prosecutor Nick Peacock said that Border Force notified North Yorkshire Police of the illicit package which was addressed to Fox.
Officers duly arrested him at his then home in Harrogate where they seized his mobile phone, weighing scales, a deal list and a photo of him holding a zip-lock bag full of cannabis.
He was taken in for questioning at Harrogate Police Station but denied any knowledge of the package and claimed he had “ordered nothing” from the USA.
A drug expert said the 453g of cannabis inside the package would have been worth up to £2,375.
Analysis of Fox’s phone revealed text messages between him and another, unknown man, arranging the importation of the cannabis package.
Fox, who had since moved to Lancashire to live with his grandmother, ultimately admitted conspiring to import a Class B drug. The conspiracy occurred between January 21 and March 8, 2022.
He appeared for sentence today (May 29).
Army ambitions
Defence barrister Temitayo Dasaolu said that Fox, now of Kempton Rise, Blackburn, wanted to join the army but that a prison sentence would scupper that.
Judge Simon Hickey said there was “no doubt” that Fox had conspired in the drug importation “with your eyes wide open”.
He told the defendant:
You agreed to allow your house to be used as a conduit for a package to be delivered from the United States.
Cannabis is a miserable drug because it usually leads addicts onto…Class A drugs. It’s a fairly significant drug in terms of psychosis as well.
The judge said it was clear, given the messages between Fox and the other man and the drug paraphernalia found at the defendant’s home, that “you were just about to enter into a little enterprise of dealing drugs, egged on by (the unknown man)” who had told him he could “make a little bit on the side”.
However, he said he had to consider the delay in the case reaching court, the positive character references on Fox’s behalf and the fact that he had since turned his life around. He also noted the “miserable”, overcrowded prison estate.
Mr Hickey said this meant he could steer away from a prison sentence which would enable Fox to fulfil his ambition of joining the army.
Instead, Fox was given an 18-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation-activity days.
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