Drug dealer bragged about how much money he was making selling cocaine in Sheffield

Ricky Proffitt, 22, was stopped by cops on January 25 last year after a tip-off who recovered 79.4g of cannabis, valued at around £1,000, a court heard.

Officers also seized several mobile phones and messages recovered were able to provide evidence of the scale of his drug pushing scheme.

One message bragged about how much money he had made selling cocaine in Sheffield.

Another was sent to 40 customers, giving them a new contact number to get in touch if they wanted to buy drugs.

Derby Crown Court heard how he was stopped in a BMW which also had traces of cocaine on the dashboard.

Cops searched his home and recovered £1,090 in cash as well as mobile phones.

Prosecutor Victoria Rose told the court: “The cannabis was recovered from the boot and 0.32g of cocaine was found on the dashboard.

"A search was carried out at his home and mobile phones were recovered and cash to the value of £1,090.

“On the phones there were references to the sale of cocaine and remarks about how much money he was making selling the drug, and how much he was making selling in Sheffield.”

Proffitt had admitted possession with intent to supply both Class A and Class B drugs at an earlier hearing, along with possessing a knuckle duster.

Mitigating, William Bennett said that Proffitt, of, Clowne, Derbyshire, had a difficult upbringing and had “fallen in with the wrong crowd”.

He told the court: “His father departed into a new relationship when he was a small child and his mother moved through several relationships and he moved to several geographical locations.

"Her choices of partner were not ideal and he was exposed to quite a lot of domestic violence.

“He didn’t excel academically and he gravitated to the wrong crowd, and before he knew it he had a cocaine habit, and I am talking hundreds of pounds.”

He said since his arrest, Proffitt had cleaned himself up, got off drugs, was now going to the gym five days a week, and attending boxing and kick-boxing classes.

However, Proffitt was sentenced to three years in prison by Recorder of Derby Mark Watson.