A Durham drug dealer started supplying cannabis to fund his own habit after losing his job during the Covid pandemic.

Michael King was found in possession of 10 bags of cannabis and more than £670 in cash when police arrested him in a car on July 16, 2020. Digital scales and mobile phones were also discovered, before officers do not go to his house and find no more cannabis.

When arrested, the 23-year-old “admitted to the offenses quickly” and said he was selling the Class B drug to friends to fund his own addiction. King appeared at Durham Crown Court on Tuesday to be convicted of possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply and supplying a Class B drug.

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Matthew Hopkins, prosecuting, said when King was arrested he told officers some of the cannabis found was for “personal use to help with anxiety and depression” as well as for sale to friends. “He said he had sold the drugs to around 20 people and would be contacted via Snapchat. He would then weigh the drugs at his home for small transactions.

“He said he was making £140 a week selling it and that would be enough for food and petrol. He said he would buy it from a vendor for up to £800. An expert looked at the drugs and found the minimum market value to be £1,750 and the defendant would earn over £140 a week.”

Amrit Jandoo, defending, said King had no prior convictions and started selling cannabis after he lost his zero hour contract job, which he lost during the covid pandemic. “He was only furloughed and his income dropped dramatically,” he said.

“He used drugs recreationally and also used them to improve his health and to help with his anxiety and depression. He provided drugs for profit and to a select circle of individuals. He has no prior convictions and has made a full and candid confession.”

Mr Jandoo added: “He is trying to redeem himself in his life and now works in a factory. There is no suggestion that he will lose his job unless he is sent straight to detention. Probation can work with him in the community.”

Sentencing King, of Bamburgh Road, Durham, Judge Robert Spragg, said he ‘admitted the offenses quickly’ and was ‘straightforward’ with police and ‘sold out to fund his own addiction’. He said: “You would buy 5 ounces of cannabis from a dealer and probably make more than the £140 a week you said. You were selling to fund your own addiction, lost your job, then sold cannabis for keep funding your habit.”

King was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to perform up to 30 days of rehabilitation activity. A three-month electronic curfew has also been imposed and King must pay £200 in costs.