Sidley drug dealer can expect long jail term

Simon Wisdom, 46, of Calgary Road, was found guilty of having cannabis and cocaine with intent to supply following a four-day trial.

The jury at Lewes Crown Court heard that when police raided a garage that was connected to Wisdom they found 396 bars of cannabis and 26 grammes of cocaine stashed in boxes.

Officers also found seven mobile phones in his car along with more than 7,000 in cash.

Wisdom, who denied the charges, claimed the cash came from a string of winning bets and didn't know drugs had been left in the garage by a friend he was too afraid to name.

Giving his evidence, Wisdom had told the court the cash seized was his winnings from gambling and he was unaware what was inside the boxes he allowed to be stored at the garage.

He said: "I gamble. Before Christmas I was on a good streak. Some days I would lose, some days I would win.

"I listen to Charlie McGann on Talksport and he gives tips.."

He said he had about 7,000 in his car to buy a new car before he spent his winnings.

"It came from gambling. It came together over a period of time."

"The reason I keep money in the garage is because I couldn't let my partner know I was gambling. She knew I was gambling but didn't want me to spend it."

Wisdom said he was on his way to Blockbuster at the Crumbles at Eastbourne to return videos when he was stopped.

On the subject of the garage where the drugs were found Wisdom said: "A friend, somebody I have known for a while over breakfast one morning at a cafe in Bexhill, I don't know how it came around I said I had a garage and he asked whether there was any room he could store some lights and growing stuff.

"I said, `Well yes', I didn't have a problem with that. The equipment was not going to be used in the garage."

"I can't name the person. I couldn't take the chance of reprisals for me and my family. I've got family out there."

Asked why he kept 3,000 in the garage he said: "It was safe as far as I was concerned. I kept it there because I could not keep it indoors. If my partner had known it was gambling money all hell would have broke loose. She would have wanted it.

Prosecutor Marcus Fletcher said: "You haven't really told us anything that is true so far have you?"

Wisdom: "I have told everything that is true."

Mr Fletcher: "You have spent seven months thinking about what to say to the jury today and having looked at the evidence you have made this all up haven't you?"

Wisdom: "Not at all."

He admitted lying when police asked him if he had any "gear" in his car but said: "I wasn't going to say I've got some cannabis in the car was I?"

He said he lived on 74 incapacity benefit of which about 12 was used to pay his monthly 50 garage rent bill. He said he had been gambling for about three years.

Following his conviction Wisdom was remanded in custody and warned by Judge Anthony Scott-Gall that he faced a long term of imprisonment.