Dealers caught with drugs, cash and a machete

TWO drug dealers were caught after patrolling police officers saw a group of five or six men chase another man through the streets of Stockton.

- By ESTHER HALLIGAN [e-mail] @TeessideLive

The police saw the chase on October 5 last year, and caught Harley Tucker, 18, and Carl Burton, 23. Tucker was carrying a machete, and threw a balaclava away during the pursuit.

He had Pregabalin tablets and cannabis on him, and a strip search revealed more Pregabalin tablets stashed in his boxer shorts. Text messages on his phone showed details of his latest drug deals.

When Burton was caught, he told the police: “I have some gas in my pocket.” He had incapacitant spray and his coat pockets contained £1,750 worth of cocaine.

Burton had been arrested months earlier, after he sped away from the police in a black Vauxhall Astra, on August 20 last year.

Teesside Crown Court has heard that he had no lights on when police tried to stop him, but that he drove down Grays Road in Stockton.