Published at 16:52, Monday, 06 August 2012

A MAN who became what a judge called a “small retailer” of a Class B drug has been given a suspended sentence.

Lee Mulholland had supplied methylenedioxypyrovalerone, which is known as MDVP, over a six-to-eight-week period, to people he knew.

Police found a quantity of the drug, when they carried out a search of his address last December.

The 32-year-old, of Newton Brow, Barrow, was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for a year. A judge at Preston Crown Court on Friday also ordered that he carry out 120 hours unpaid work.

Mulholland had pleaded guilty to one offence of supplying MDVP, the possession of the same drug and also possessing diazepam and the drug known as NRG-1.

Mr Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said police carried out a search of the defendant’s then home, where he lived with his partner, on December 2 last year.

A bag was found containing white powder. It turned out to be the drug MDVP and had a street value of around £650.

When interviewed by police, Mulholland admitted having sold the drug for some weeks, believing that it was a “legal high”. He had done this to fund his own drug use, the court heard.

Mulholland spoke of having supplied a circle of friends.

A wrap also found contained another Class B drug, NRG-1.

Police also found 86 diazepam tablets. When asked about the tablets, the defendant said they were to help him sleep.

Mulholland was a man of previous good character.

Defence barrister Mr Richard Vardon said his client had paid a heavy price for the offences. The court heard he had since lost his job, having worked for five years in a care home and having hoped to pursue a career working in the mental health sector.

“He comes from a respectable family background,” Mr Vardon said.

“The defendant’s regret and shame is expressed by his early guilty plea.

“He was dealing in very very small quantities, for very very small financial reward. This was so he could obtain the drug. He was supplying to friends who used such substances.

“He poses a low risk of re-offending and no longer uses illicit substances. He is now back home.”

Judge Stuart Baker told Mulholland: “You were, in effect, a small retailer to people who you knew.”

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk