A MAN who admitted possessing class A and class B drugs was selling them as well, the Royal Court has decided.
The verdict came after a Newton hearing ahead of the sentencing of 27-year-old Elias Benyoucef.
A Newton hearing takes place when the defendant has pleaded guilty to the offence, but admits to a different version of facts from the prosecution.
Benyoucef admitted possession of cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis resin and the class B drug THC, but claimed he was only minding the drugs.
However, Crown Advocate Nuno Santos-Costa, prosecuting, told the hearing in the Royal Court that evidence from photographs, videos and text messages all showed that he was selling them.
“All of this taken together leads to the inevitable conclusion that he was in fact a drug dealer,” Advocate Santos-Costa said. “He was not simply minding them for someone else.”
A quantity of drugs had been placed in a Coop carrier bag that was then concealed in the back garden of one of Benyoucef’s neighbours in Trinity Road in St Helier.
The hearing was shown a photograph of Benyoucef, dressed in black, entering the garden, while three of Benyoucef’s fingerprints were found within the carrier bag.
Advocate Santos-Costa read from a police interview in which Benyoucef was asked: “Were you selling drugs to pay for your own drug habit?”
Benyoucef replied: “Absolutely not.”
He was then asked: “How do you account for your being in that back yard?”
He had said: “No comment.”
The court also heard from Detective Constable James Fowler, a drugs specialist with the States police.
He said a set of “very sensitive” weighing scales had been found in Benyoucef’s home and explained: “They are the most common scales used by people dealing drugs.”
He added that traces of cocaine and cannabis had both been found on the scales. In another police interview, Benyoucef had been asked: “Were you weighing up coke as well as weed?”
He had again replied: “No comment.”
Det Con Fowler said many of the text messages on Benyoucef’s phone seemed to contain offers to provide drugs.
The hearing was also shown videos of large sums of cash in banknotes. The detective said drug dealers would often make such videos to boast of their success.
After 50 minutes of deliberation yesterday(THURS) morning the Jurats decided they were sure that Benyoucef was acting as a dealer.
He was remanded in custody until Friday of next week(3RD) when a date for his sentencing will be fixed.
The Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, was presiding with Jurats Kim Averty and Karen Le Cornu.
