Former nightclub boss Gary Robb, 47, was jailed for five years at Teesside Crown Court.[1] He had admitted two charges of permitting premises to be used for the supply of ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis between May 1994 and February 1996.[1] The investigation began with undercover operations at the former Colosseum nightclub in Norton Road, Stockton.[1]
He went on trial in September 1997 but skipped bail and fled to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, where he remained until January last year.[1] He was returned only after the Cyprus authorities deemed him persona non grata and he was arrested by police on arrival at Stansted Airport.[1] A police raid on February 3, 1996 seized ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis with a total street value of £15,000.[1] He fled to northern Cyprus in 1997 after his Stockton club was raided by drugs officers in 1996.[2] He was deported in January 2009 and pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court.[2]
He will serve half of the five-year sentence, with 525 days already spent in custody deducted, meaning he could leave prison in about a year.[1] The court heard he would serve only about a year in prison because of time already spent in custody.[2]
