Father and son sentenced for drug dealing
Northumbria PoliceA father who recruited his son to help him sell drugs has been jailed.
David McNeill, 38 and from Gateshead, sold drugs including cocaine, cannabis and codeine over an 18-month period, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Judge Graham Robinson said McNeill, who was jailed for three years and four months, played a "significant role" supplying drugs to street dealers, and "involved" his son James, 22, in the operation.
Both admitted conspiracy to supply Class A, B and C drugs, with James McNeill, who unlike his father had no previous convictions, being jailed for two and half years, suspended for two years.
The pair dealt drugs between March 2024 and September 2025, the judge said, with messages showing David McNeill, from Lobley Hill, had a "fairly extensive street dealer operation".
He was using funds to pay off drug and personal debts such as rent arrears, the court heard, with about £3,600 in cash found when they raided his home.
Robinson said he was satisfied James McNeill, from Bedlington, Northumberland, got involved through "pressure and control" as a result of his "naivety, immaturity or exploitation".
As part of his suspended sentence, James McNeill will have to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and a mental health treatment course, as well as other work with the Probation Service.