Aberdeen drug dealer caught doing drop offs for Merseyside crime gang

A persistent drug offender who worked for a Merseyside crime gang has been jailed for nearly six years after he was caught in Aberdeen with heroin and cocaine worth nearly £49,000.

Ryan ‘Titch’ Legon, 29, was seen driving a vehicle used by the organised crime group (OCG) to drop off Class A drugs to customers before police carried out a raid on a flat in the city.

When officers forced entry to the property, they found Legon there with bags containing cocaine and heroin, scales, cash, clingfilm and tick lists on open display in the living room.

Legon, a prisoner at HMP Grampian, admitted being concerned in the supply of both cocaine and heroin on March 19 this year at a flat at St Mary’s Place, in Aberdeen.

A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh told Legon that because of his past record for drug trafficking in Class A narcotics, he would have faced a seven-year jail term, but for his guilty plea.

Lord Renucci told him: “You are no stranger to the courts, nor indeed to the prison system.” The judge pointed out that he has previously served sentences in both England and Scotland.

The court heard that Legon was jailed for two years in March 2019 for being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine and was sentenced to a further three years’ imprisonment in November 2022 for similar offences.

Advocate depute David Dickson KC said of the latest crime: “In the course of March this year, Police Scotland received intelligence relating to an OCG from Merseyside which was involved in the distribution of cocaine and heroin in the Aberdeen area and an individual associated with it known as ‘Titch’.”

The prosecutor said: “The OCG typically advertised the sale of drugs through the means of a ‘batch’ message and would then carry out ‘drops’ to their customers in a vehicle, namely a silver Vauxhall Meriva.

“The OCG would typically not deal from a set location, keeping a small amount of individual pre-made deals in the vehicle.”

Mr Dickson said that at the time Legon was also wanted under an outstanding warrant issued at Peterhead Sheriff Court the previous year.

He said that at midday on March 19 this year, police officers on mobile patrol saw the silver Vauxhall Meriva being driven onto Crown Street, in Aberdeen, with Legon as the driver and sole occupant.

The vehicle was seen parked at the rear of an address in St Mary’s Place, and Legon went into the building before officers forced entry to a flat at the property and found him with the drugs.

During a search, they recovered 463g of heroin with a potential street value of £31,145 and 202g of cocaine worth up to £17,770 on the streets. Some of the drugs were already prepared in deal wraps. Officers also found £8,925 in cash.

Mr Dickson said Legon was cautioned and made no reply.

Defence counsel Wendy Culross said Legon had run up a drug debt, which he was unable to pay, and was required to “work” to pay it off.

The Crown has raised a proceeds of crime action against Legon seeking to seize criminal profits from him.