A dealer 'turned white' after police discovered almost £20,000 of crack cocaine at the home he shared with his sister. Joseph Oliveria, 26, appeared to be 'visibly shaken and turned white' as the drugs were seized.
His sister Georgia Kinsella, 35, also ended up in court after officers found a can of pepper spray hidden in a bedroom in the same property in Everton, Merseyside. Police armed with a warrant searched the house at about 8.30pm on December 15, 2020 after her brother was arrested over an 'unrelated matter', the Liverpool Echo reported.
Officers recovered two packages containing 15 wraps of crack from Oliveria, worth about £300. Within the property police found 1,824 deals found in a plastic Asda bag in a chest of drawers in Oliveria's bedroom.
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The drugs were valued at £18,240. A joint and a bag of cannabis were seized from the living room, as were three wraps of heroin, a tick list and £300 in cash.
A CS gas cannister containing Kinsella's fingerprints was discovered in another bedroom. Liverpool Crown Court was told she had "handled it some months beforehand, was aware it was in the property and allowed it to remain on the premises'. "The crown cannot say why it was there and whether there was a link to Mr Oliveria or the drugs found in the address," prosecutor Nick Cockrell said.
Oliveria was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, breaching a suspended sentence order and possession of cannabis, while his sister avoided jail after admitting possessing a prohibited weapon. The siblings hugged in the dock as he was led down to the cells.
Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey QC told Oliveria: "As you are well aware, this offence is so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified for it. Class A controlled drugs cause misery, desperation and degradation.
"You have accepted you were intending to supply a considerable quantity of such drugs. You were playing a significant role.
"Of some significance is the date of the offence and the delay since that date, which certainly is not as a result of any doings by yourself. The court will take into account your unhappy childhood and personal circumstances."
His barrister said he got involved in dealing following his grandmother's death in 2019, a woman who had been a 'mother figure' to him. Oliveria had previously been given a suspended sentence in 2020 being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
Defence counsel Alisha Butler said: "The offending escalated from that. He admits he is still grieving now. He is remorseful to find himself here.
"He wants to use his time productively to ensure when he is released from custody he won't find himself before the courts again and can move forward in his life."
Kinsella was handed a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work. The judge told her: "You accept that on an occasion you had momentarily touched it, albeit a number of months prior to the police search. Having touched it, you in effect permitted the CS gas cannister to remain on your premises.
"You are a woman of previous good character. In those circumstances, the court can stand back from imposing any custodial sentence."
Her counsel Michael O'Neill said: "This is her only conviction, and the offence is around 18 months old now."
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