Dealer caught ‘red-handed’ with cannabis – court

The court heard police found Knight-Hook sitting in the living room of his home, in Darragh in Port Erin, with a package of cannabis nearby when the they arrived with a warrant.

After being arrested and handcuffed, he was seen bending over a counter which had a layer of white powder on it.

When challenged by officers he told them, “It’s not cocaine, it’s ketamine”.

And when being transferred to police headquarters he said: “I knew I got caught red-handed as you came in and saw all this stuff.”

During a police interview, he told officers he bought the cannabis in bulk for personal use and said there would be nothing incriminating on his phone, but refused to tell them his pin number.

The device later revealed messages showing he had been selling the drug to other people.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of the drugs with intent to supply, and one of possession of criminal property.

Meanwhile a teenager found with a sports bag filled with cannabis in a hotel room was also given a suspended sentence at a separate hearing at Douglas Courthouse.

Hayden Oates, 17, was caught when police attended the Palace Hotel in Douglas and noticed a “strong smell of cannabis” coming from the room he was staying in.

A search of the room found about £1,000 worth of the drug in a JD Sports bag stashed in a bedside cabinet and nine joints.

Messages on his phone showed he had been selling the drug for several months.

He pleaded guilty to charges of possessing cannabis with intent to supply, and supplying the drug.

He was handed a 12-month prison term, suspended for 18 months with an 18-month supervision order.