A man convicted of selling cocaine has told a judge he was coerced into trafficking after falling into debt to drug suppliers. However, Christopher Pogson refused to name the senior figures behind the operation, claiming he feared violence against himself and his relatives.
During proceedings at Bradford Crown Court, the defendant explained he believed refusing the criminal enterprise would result in serious consequences. He stated that individuals operating in his neighbourhood were known for employing threats involving physical harm and weapons.
Pogson maintained he was subjected to modern slavery through coerced criminal activity involving drug sales.
His Honour Judge Geoffrey Marson KC dismissed assertions that the defendant had not been operating independently and sentenced him to three and a half years imprisonment.
The 35-year-old had previously admitted offences related to Class A drug cocaine and Class B drug cannabis supply, along with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.
In testimony, Pogson described how his heavy drinking and cocaine consumption, alongside his partner’s similar habits, resulted in mounting debts that reached crisis point last summer. He estimated the drug-related debt at between £600 and £800.
According to his account, controllers of the drugs network had lost confidence in a previous runner and approached him to assume the position because of the money he owed them.
When questioned by defence counsel Syam Soni about whether he would identify those running the operation, Pogson declined. He explained his silence stemmed from concerns for his own safety and that of his family.
Mr Soni pressed him on what consequences he anticipated, to which Pogson responded that those involved were recognized for violent behaviour and firearm crimes.
The defendant claimed his initial refusal led to an assault involving punches to his face and head in mid-August the previous year. He did not report this incident to authorities.
Subsequently, he was approached again and informed he would need to operate the telephone line handling drug orders or face consequences, which he understood to mean severe physical violence given the group’s reputation.
Pogson stated he received a mobile phone through his letterbox and was instructed to answer calls during designated periods before passing the device to another individual, whose identity he would not disclose. He denied personally supplying drugs to users or supervising others connected to the operation.
He recounted that on each occasion he encountered his drug suppliers, they demanded payment of his debt or threatened assault.
He maintained he represented an easy target because the criminals knew he would remain silent and comply with their instructions.
Pogson, who was previously resident in Holme Wood, Bradford but had no fixed address at sentencing, was apprehended by officers on November 3 last year. Officers discovered him in possession of two phones linked to drug dealing operations alongside his personal mobile device. The area was described as a hub for narcotics activity.
He stated a dealing phone arrived through his letterbox in mid-September and his involvement persisted until his arrest.
He argued that currency discovered on his person derived from his carer’s allowance payments rather than drug proceeds, and that two packages of cocaine he was hiding were intended for personal consumption by himself and his partner.
Pogson denied awareness of customer lists found at his property but acknowledged numerous individuals connected to the drugs organisation had frequented his residence during the period he operated the phone line. He believed these visits served as check-ups on whether the device remained active and provided the visitors somewhere warm and dry to stay.
He said he thought his drug debt was being reduced but later discovered his partner was being supplied narcotics without his knowledge.
He insisted communications on his personal device concerned cannabis rather than cocaine.
When passing sentence, Judge Marson expressed complete conviction that Pogson had been conducting his own cocaine sales, albeit on a limited scale, as well as dealing in cannabis. Regarding the cannabis offences, the judge stated the messages on the defendant’s phone overwhelmingly supported this conclusion and it would defy common sense to determine otherwise.
Concerning the telephone operation, the judge observed that Pogson had voluntarily developed a cocaine dependency and incurred debts to more significant criminals. The judge noted this outcome was entirely foreseeable, as it is widely recognized within illicit drug markets that indebtedness creates vulnerability to coercion.
Pogson received an overall term of 42 months imprisonment, with 40 per cent to be served before release eligibility. The judge ordered the confiscation of the seized narcotics and mobile phones.