A MAN who was selling drugs in a Suffolk town has walked free from court after a judge agreed not to send him straight to prison.

Police officers who arrested Joseph Wint in Brandon found he was in possession of cannabis worth around �250 and they also discovered �510 cash in his wallet and a further �260 at his home, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Wint, 29, of Rought Avenue, Brandon, admitted supplying cannabis and possessing cannabis with intent to supply and was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work in the community.

A confiscation order was also made under the Proceeds of Crime Act in respect of �770 seized by police from Wint after his arrest.

Also before the court was Christopher Goh, 34, of Mount Pit Lane, Brandon, who admitted supplying cannabis. He was made the subject of a community order with six months supervision by the probation service and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work in the community.

Sentencing the men, Judge Peter Thompson described Wint as the senior partner while Goh had been a “runner”.

Robert Sadd, prosecuting, said two police officers had been on patrol in Brandon on May 24 last year when they saw the defendants on motorbikes.

The officers discovered �240 of cannabis in Wint’s possession and �510 cash in his wallet and a further �260 at his home.

William Carter, for Wint, said his client was charged with supplying cannabis over a ten-day period but he accepted he had been supplying for around five months.

Mr Carter said text messages on his client’s phone showed he had been dealing small quantities of cannabis to other users who were mostly known to him.

Mr Carter said his client had been using cannabis since he was 16 to ease the discomfort and pain of Crohn’s disease.

Since his arrest, he had reduced his intake of cannabis and was looking to give up the drug completely.

Lindsay Cox, for Goh, said his client had no previous convictions and had played a subordinate role to that of his co-defendant.

He said that as a result of his arrest his wife had left him and he had lost his job.