A TEENAGE drug dealer who set up shop in a vulnerable woman’s home in Worcester has been spared jail after a judge decided to give him one last chance.

Durpri Robinson was a ‘cuckoo’ installed as a dealer in a woman’s home in Donaldson Court in Diglis, Worcester.

However, the judge accepted that the 18-year-old was manipulated by people further up the chain and that he was now at a ‘fork in the road’ in his life having already received a taste of life in prison while awaiting sentence.

Robinson of Aston Manor Close, Aston, Birmingham, admitted possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and possession of criminal property when he appeared before judge Nicolas Cartwright QC to be sentenced at Worcester Crown Court yesterday.

Robinson was found in possession of 65 wraps of class A drugs – 33 wraps of crack cocaine and 32 wraps of heroin – and £179 in cash, the proceeds of his dealing between May 31 and June 1.

Two mobile phones were seized. A Nokia phone revealed messages linked to drug dealing with instructions being received from someone saved in the phone as ‘D’.

Andrew Wilkins, prosecuting, said officers attended an address at Donaldson Court at around 11am on June 1 where Robinson was arrested.

Mr Wilkins described the woman who lived at the address as ‘vulnerable’.

When interviewed by police Robinson claimed he had come to Worcester because the shops were better than those in Birmingham.

“He did not want to go back to Birmingham by train so he stayed at the address. The prosecution say that, although perhaps somewhat naïve, he came down from Birmingham to Worcester to play his part in this conspiracy to supply drugs. That would put him into a significant category. It’s clearly street dealing” said Mr Wilkins.

Robinson had no previous convictions and references were provided to the court from Robinson’s mother and the chief executive officer of a charitable organisation.

Jason Patel, defending, said Robinson had been told he would be paid for his role but not how much, arguing that he was ‘naïve’ and had been ‘manipulated’ and ‘exploited’ by others upon whose instructions he had been and had been acting.

However, Mr Wilkins said it was ‘stretching credibility’ that Robinson had come to Worcester from Birmingham to buy a pair of trainers, as he claimed.

Judge Cartwright took into account Robinson’s youth and early guilty pleas and that he had spent two months in custody already.

He said: “You’re from Birmingham. You took part in drug dealing activity known as cuckooing where dealers of class A drugs from large cities move into the provinces and, in particular, move into the home address of a vulnerable person, usually drug users themselves, who are in debt to the drug dealers and, having taken over their address, they install someone to do the street level dealing.”

He said Robinson would already have completed around 17 deals by the time police arrived which accounted for the cash police found. Judge Cartwright said that Robinson himself, as the ‘shop keeper’, was not a drug user which was typical of such cuckooing operations.

“I accept that you were manipulated into your role to some extent. You came to Worcester for social reasons, not specifically to be installed in this operation.

“You have been given a significant taste of what it’s like to be in a young offender institution. There is plainly much good and much potential in you. That much is clear from the references I have read. Please make use of the opportunity you have been given.”

He sentenced him to two years in prison for dealing heroin, two years for dealing crack cocaine and eight months for possession of criminal property. All sentences were concurrent and suspended for two years.

Robinson must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work and go to an attendance centre for 24 hours when instructed to do so. Judge Cartwright ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.

'WE KNOW THE MISERY THAT DRUGS CAUSE' - POLICE

DI Stu Murphy of West Mercia's Priority CID said often those who were targeted in cuckooing were vulnerable by virtue of their age, disability or addiction to drugs.

Speaking of the people who control such enterprises he said: "They will put their own drug dealers in the house and take over that house. They may be given some drugs in compensation for that.

"This is often done against the will of the occupiers but because they're vulnerable they're not able to do anything about it."

Cuckooing can be accompanied by coercion or threats of violence.

DI Murphy said people with few or no convictions would be used to deal the drugs to avoid drawing suspicion and there had been cases of students taking such risks for money.

DI Murphy said if caught they risked not only a custodial sentence but their conviction could cause them significant problems later in life, restricting their ability to travel for example.

Some of the focus of police has been on disrupting the activity of these dealers. Police in Worcester work with closely with housing providers to evict tenants who allow their property to be used for dealing drugs.

He said: "We have had a high level of success . That is because the public have confidence in us to come forward and give that information and intelligence to let us know when it's going on. We will act on it. We know the misery that drugs cause."

DI Murphy urged the public to contact West Mercia Police on 101 if they see any suspicious activity.

In the case of cuckooing this could involve a number of people coming to an address for short periods and during the day or night.