A drug dealer who was part of a county lines gang that imported crack cocaine and heroin into Scotland has been jailed after being caught by police in Aberdeen.
Dwayne Harmitt, 29, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Livingston today to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs in Aberdeen earlier this year.
Police acting on intelligence recovered a large quantity of narcotics after searching a flat in the Bedford Road area of the city on Thursday, March 31 this year.
Following the raid, officers charged Harmitt along with two occupants of the flat – Samuel Lowton, 27, and Kerry Mackie, 41 – with the same offences.
The other accused has still to be dealt with by the courts.
Initial police estimates put the value of the drugs recovered at nearly £6,000.
However, advocate depute Leeanne McQuillan told the court that it had since been established that the haul consisted of 28.6 grams of cocaine worth £2,400 and 43.1g of heroin worth £2,140.
She said Harmitt, who was from Birmingham but currently has no fixed abode, had been remanded in custody since his first court appearance on petition on April 1 this year.
She said he had two previous convictions for being concerned in the supply of drugs.
In December 2017 he was jailed for a total of 30 months at Stafford Crown Court for sentence for possession of heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply.
He was later sentenced to a further seven years in prison at the same court for supplying heroin and cocaine, possessing heroin and having an imitation firearm but was released early on 22 January 2021.
His parole licence, which allows him to be recalled to prison to serve the remainder of the English sentence, is not due to expire until July 2024.
Ms McQuillan said the search of the Aberdeen flat had uncovered plastic bags containing the drugs in a number of packages and wraps along with £125 in cash.
Caught with his DNA
Harmitt’s DNA was recovered from a bag of heroin, a bag of cocaine and one of the wraps.
Kenneth Cloggie KC, defending, said Harmitt had attempted to live a normal life with his pregnant partner in Birmingham following his release but had suffered a major setback as a result of “tragic personal circumstances” which had a negative effect on him.
He said the accused had known Lowton previously and had stayed with him in the Aberdeen flat for nearly a year.
He said: “He then fell back into his old habit. He was aware of what he was doing.
“Unlike his co-accused, Mr Harmitt remains on remand. I was instructed in the summer of this year but I wasn’t able to consult personally with him until 25 August.
“The first time I met him he gave me clear instructions to plead guilty, and the next day I discussed it with the advocate depute.
“Notwithstanding the fact he has two previous convictions for being concerned in the supply of drugs, the mandatory sentencing provisions do not apply.”
‘Street-level dealing’
Judge Lord Fairley said he accepted that sentencing guidelines dictated that a minimum sentence of seven years only applied to accused persons who had three previous convictions for drug supply.
He also noted that the English probation service could recall Harmitt to prison but it would have to take into account any sentence passed in Scotland.
Turning to Harmitt, who appeared in court via a video link from prison, the judge told him: “Although the quantity of drugs was significant, it seems to me from the narrative I’ve heard that you were involved in street-level dealing.
“This is your second conviction for dealing in Class A narcotics. Had it been your third I would have been bound to impose a minimum sentence of seven years.
“It seems to me the appropriate headline sentence is one of five and a half years but I’m going to modify that to reflect the fact that you pleaded guilty at the earliest possible stage.
“The standard discount would be one of one-third. That leaves a final sentence of 44 months, or three years and eight months.
“Having regard to the fact that there’s an unexpired licence portion on your last custodial sentence I’m not going to backdate it, so that sentence will run from today.”
Crackdown on county lines gangs
The Aberdeen drugs bust formed part of Police Scotland’s crackdown on county lines drug dealing, which involves cross-border criminals linking up to traffic drugs.
Detective Constable Karen Maxwell said: “Taking drugs off the street is a priority for Police Scotland.
“We will ensure Aberdeen remains a hostile environment for anyone looking to engage in criminality.”
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