A cocaine-dealing Pokemon Go player has been jailed after police caught him selling drugs while under surveillance.
41-year-old Raymond Phipps has been sentenced to five years in prison as part of a group of seven people who sold drugs.
According to reports, police ran a year-long investigation called ‘Operation Tattoo’ where Phipps was under surveillance, but the defense claimed he was mostly just playing Pokemon Go.
In mitigation, barrister Ioana Nedelcu argued that when police observed the dealer, he was actually out ‘collecting’ Pokemon, but that didn’t end up swaying the judge.
Pokemon Go drug dealer gets five years in jail
Metro reports that police found £13,350 cash in a Morrisons carrier bag. Although Phipps said it was a wedding gift from his grandma, the prosecution said the bag contained fingerprints from another member of the gang.
Prosecutor Robin Leach claimed Phipps was the middleman of the gang and served as the group’s “fixer.”
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Judge Nicholas Haggan called the drug-dealing group a “highly sophisticated and well-organized operation” and laid down the law.
“The offenses you have committed are so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community penalty can be justified,” the judge said.
“However, having considered your personal mitigations with regard to your health, and the length of time you were waiting for the trial, I order you to a term of five years in prison.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Pokemon Go and drugs have mixed. Last year, cops found Pokemon Go-themed drugs after a driver slammed into a police van.
