Manx dealer jailed after being caught with drugs laid out on bed

Shannon Bolton and Cairo Benjamin were sentenced at Douglas Courthouse

A drug dealer who was caught with cannabis and cocaine laid out on his bed on the Isle of Man has been jailed for six years and 10 months.

Shannon Bolton, 29, initially denied knowledge of the cocaine and said the cannabis belonged to someone else.

He was arrested on 13 November 2019 along with Cairo Benjamin, 22, and both men refused to give police access to their mobile phones.

Benjamin was sentenced to 29 months in prison for separate drug offences.

The court heard when police arrived at Bolton's home in Sumark Avenue, in Douglas, both men were in the back garden.

Benjamin ran into the property and was caught by police on the stairs before cannabis and cocaine with a street value of more than £6,000, were found in sealed bags in the other man's bedroom along with £50 in cash on the bedside table.

Both men had small quantities of drugs in their coat pockets when searched, and Benjamin had £410 in cash, which he claimed he had saved from his benefit payments, and the pair were arrested.

'Hide something'

On 2 March 2021, police went to Benjamin's home in Sumark Croft, in Douglas, and found him trying to hide cannabis in a kitchen cupboard.

A search of the property uncovered more than £1,500 of the drug inside a black satchel, along with scales, snap bags, and other items associated with drug dealing.

A further search of the home on 26 May found another £438 of the drug, which he said was for personal use, and £345 in cash.

On 7 August, Bolton was arrested again after kicking his girlfriend's front door and assaulting her in a row over access to his clothes after she asked him to leave her home in Osborne Grove in Douglas.

Bolton pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, possession of criminal property, common assault and criminal damage.

Benjamin admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and two counts each of possession of cannabis and possession of criminal property.

Sentencing the pair, Deemster Graeme Cook said the men's refusal to give police access to their mobile phones looked very much like they "were trying to hide something".