A county lines drug dealer caught in Dundee after being ordered by a sheriff to leave Scotland has been given a supervision order, which staves off the threat of deportation.
Oumar Jalloh, 23, had been told to return to Leicester after being found early last year selling cocaine and in possession of a sharpened butter knife in Hilltown.
Despite being told in no uncertain terms where to go, Jalloh was caught again in the city’s Arklay Street weeks later, with a four-figure sum of drugs.
Jalloh has been in custody awaiting sentence since May, Dundee Sheriff Court was told — the equivalent of a 20-month period in jail.
Defence solicitor Ian Myles said: “If he is sentenced to more than 12 months, he would be subject to the Borders Act, which would see him deported by to Guinea.
“There is nothing for him there.”
‘Bad choice’ to come to Dundee
Mr Myles added of his client’s return to Dundee: “He accepts it was a bad choice.
“He was, to an extent, exploited.
“He was sent to Dundee, told where to go and where to stay.
“He was in debt and under pressure to pay it off.”
Sheriff Krista Johnston told Jalloh his offending was of a very serious kind but she was convinced she could deal with the matter through a community-based order.
She added: “The court always views knife crime very seriously because of the harm that can be caused.
“The possession of class A drugs is also taken very seriously.
“Notwithstanding what has been said in mitigation, I also must take into account your age, the young persons guidelines apply to you.
“You have no previous convictions.
“The report takes into account the traumatic events that have lead you to participating in this life.
“You have spent the equivalent of 20 months on remand.
“I am, just, persuaded the public can be best protected from you by imposing a community payback order.”
Told to leave Scotland
At a previous hearing, fiscal depute Lynne Mannion explained police first found the 23-year-old in Dundee’s Hilltown on January 31 2022 after they had been called about someone selling drugs in the area.
Officers found him and two other males when they arrived at around 4.30pm.
All three were searched but only Jalloh was found to have any illicit property – the sharpened blade and drugs, along with cash and mobile phones.
He was arrested, appeared in court the next day, released on bail and told to leave Scotland.
At that stage, Jalloh was registered to an address in Leicester’s Newfoundpool neighbourhood.
Just weeks later, police found him with a four-figure haul of cocaine at the flat in Arklay Street.
Jalloh will be subject to a supervision order in Leicester for 12 months.
