South Shields man jailed after marathon drugs trial launches freedom bid
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Darren Gates, 50, from South Shields, was jailed for six-and-a-half years in February 2020 after a crown court case lasting three months and a police investigation dating back to 2015.
He was convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs after the trial heard how officers found £110,000 in cash when they arrested him while he was driving in October 2015.
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Hide AdTeesside Crown Court was told how experts said the banknotes were contaminated with twice the level of cocaine normally found in circulation.
The trial also learned how £100,000 of cocaine was later recovered as part of Durham Constabulary’s Operation Ebony.
Five other men, who were from Hartlepool, Peterlee, Haswell and South Hetton, were cleared of conspiracy with the jury also discharged from reaching verdicts about two other defendants.
Gates, formerly of Grays Walk, is now hoping to win his freedom by contesting his conviction at London’s Court of Appeal on Thursday, January 14.
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Hide AdThe trial heard that the £110,000 was part of a “legitimate business interest” and not connected to any plot to supply cocaine.
Gates’s barrister told the court that he had been out of trouble for 20 years with no previous involvement with drugs.
The court also learned he had been working as a driver transporting carers while also carrying out property repairs for a friend’s care homes business.
But he was convicted of the offence by a majority verdict of nine to one with Judge Peter Armstrong stating that his role as a courier of the money was significant.