Failed asylum seeker admits drugs possession

A Zimbabwean reveller was caught trying to take drugs into a club in the United Kingdom. Failed asylum seeker Dalton Mtengwa blamed an unnamed man for handing him the packets of amphetamine outside Passion in Sunderland. 

The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to possession of a class B drug at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court.

Stan Sudworth, prosecuting, said Mtengwa dropped a small packet of white powder as he was searched by bouncers at about 3am on December 2. Another packet was found in his jacket pocket.

Ian Cassidy, defending, said Mtengwa, of Roker Avenue, Sunderland, thought he had been set up.

“He said the person who gave them to him, he is not familiar with, but he knows who he is.

“He does not use amphetamine and does not use any drugs, apart from cannabis.”

Mtengwa had been living in the UK since he was eight. His family had been allowed to stay, but his application for leave to remain had been turned down.

District Judge Roger Elsey deferred sentencing until June, warning Mtengwa not to commit any more offences and to comply with a community order.

In October 2007 it was reported that Mtengwa then 17, alongside Herman Dias, 15, Dire King-Thomas, 15, and Ivo Neto, 16, were arrested after a three-month campaign of terrifying robberies, including one with an imitation firearm.

Mtengwa and King-Thomas told one victim they would “blow his brains out” but all escaped jail at the Minshull Street Crown Court when they were given anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs).

The court heard the teenagers were investigated for links to the infamous Oregon-based 503 gang, whose members wear one glove, travel in groups of three to five and “get credibility” for robbing people.

Mtenga admitted three counts of robbery and possession of a firearm. SunderlandEcho.com/ManchesterEveningNews