A JUDGE has jailed two cocaine addicted Carlisle men who set up their own dealing operation, which operated for just over six months.

Police began investigating after officers stopped 30-year-old Liam Gilmour as he drove a van in Carlisle and discovered that he was carrying three wraps of the class A drug, which was 72 per cent pure.

This prompted a police search of the house in Carlisle where Gilmour lived with his fellow dealer James Gill, 29.

As the officers approached the property, he was seen to throw a 50g lump of cocaine from the window in an attempt to remove incriminating evidence. Both men admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

Carlisle Crown Court heard an outline of their offending.

Police stopped Gilmour in his Peugeot van on Westmorland Street, Carlisle, on November 25, 2022, discovering that he had both the cocaine and £530 in cash.

The cocaine was 72 per cent pure.

As a result of what they found, officers went to the Carlisle property where the two defendants were living and there they found numerous incriminating items.

As the officers approached, Gill threw a bag containing almost £2,000 in cash from the window as well as a large ball of 85 per cent pure cocaine.

Also found at the house were digital scales, and 18 wraps of cocaine, as well as a further £5,800 in cash. There was also a debtors list at the house.

A police drugs expert who examined messages on the defendant’s phone concluded that they were consistent with drugs supply.

Gill’s record consisted of nine previous offences, mostly for low-level violence; while Gilmour has five offences on his record, including two for drug possession.

Andrew Gurney, for Gill, of Skiddaw Road, Carlisle, told the court: “He's had his whole adult life plagued by the use of cocaine. He’s been addicted to cocaine for the past eight years and the sale of it was in part to fund his usage of it.”

Over the past 18 months, said the lawyer, Gill had tried to change his life and he accepted that his drug use caused the downfall of personal relationships and his ability to work.

Mr Gurney added: “Whatever the outcome today, he feels a turning point for him, so he can move forward.”

Referring to Gilmour, of Burnrigg, Carlisle, Mr Gurney said he too had sold cocaine to pay for his habit. “He’s been addicted to cocaine since he was 17,” said the lawyer. “Cocaine usage has been an ongoing issue for him.”

Judge Nicholas Barker noted the sum of money recovered from the men – amounting to some £8,500 – and said he rejected the claim that the dealing was purely to fund their habit.

“It was a commercial enterprise, generating significant amounts of cash,” he said.

Their dealing operation ran between March and October of 2022, though the judge accepted that both defendants are remorseful. He jailed both men for 30 months.