(Image: North Yorkshire Police)
A drug dealer caught three days after he moved into a North Yorkshire town to peddle cocaine has been jailed at York Crown Court.
A CCTV operator alerted police to the suspicious activities of Florian Gjuni, 25, and another man, said Sam Roxborough, prosecuting.
Police went looking for the pair and caught Gjuni as he cycled around Scarborough delivering drugs as part of an operation run by a drug dealer known only as AAA.
Officers watched as Gjuni appeared to carry out a drug deal and when they got out of their car and approached, they saw Gjuni trying and hide something.
He had cocaine and cash on him. He had been living at the drug dealing hub in St Thomas’ Street, Scarborough, where officers found £800 cash and a large seal bag containing smaller deal bags of cocaine.
Gjuni, of no fixed address, told police he had moved into the Scarborough address three days before he was arrested. He had arrived in the town with £300 of his own cash, which he used to buy his food.
All the money he got through selling drugs, he kept separate from his own and handed over to AAA at the end of the day. He said he didn’t receive any money from AAA.
Drug dealer Florian Gjuni from Albania
(Image: North Yorkshire Police)
Gjuni, an Albanian national, pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply it to others.
His barrister Jordan Millican said he had initially worked in the construction industry and stopped after moving to Scarborough. Gjuni was in the UK illegally, said Mr Millican.
He had never been in trouble with the police in either country.
Jailing Gjuni for 29 months, the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, said he would be deported after he served the sentence and that although he was aware of the scale of the drug dealing operation, he was also to a degree acting under the directions of AAA.
The judge forfeited the £854.26 taken from Gjuni on his arrest and during the house search.
Detective Constable Alfie Thomlinson, from Scarborough CID , who led the investigation, said: “We are pleased with the outcome at court, but our work does not stop there - we will continue to take a firm stance against drug-related crime in the Scarborough area and work closely with community partners to reduce the irrefutable harm caused by drugs, especially its devastating impact on vulnerable people in our communities.
"This offence took place at the end of May and has come to a positive outcome only a month later, showing true diligent and expeditious investigation by Scarborough CID.
“We will not stop working tirelessly to pursue those who bring drugs into North Yorkshire - we are committed to making North Yorkshire a place that is, and feels, a safe space to live, work and visit.”