A BRAZEN Newton Abbot drug dealer claimed state benefits while he was using his illegal profits to buy himself a Rolex watch and thousands of pounds worth of designer clothing.

Michael De Escofet was caught with £3,757 cash and a Rolex he had bought for £4,800 just a week before when police raided his home.

He had a wardrobe full of designer items, all bought for cash, and all with their receipts. They included a £600 coat, and a £125 cap.

He had also treated himself to a holiday in Amsterdam where he splashed out 390 Euros at the Louis Vuitton shop. All this was while claiming Universal Credit and Housing Benefit.

Care leaver De Escofet was just 18 and living in a flat that had been provided for him by the council when he set up his cannabis dealing business in Newton Abbot.

He was stripped of his cash and his designer wardrobe after a Judge at Exeter Crown Court gave him a suspended jail sentence.

De Escofet, now aged 19, of Bradley Lane, Newton Abbot, admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.

He was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years, curfewed for four months and ordered to receive 15 days supervision by Judge Timothy Rose.

He ordered the forfeiture of cash, drugs, watch and clothing and told him: “You must have been making at least £10,000 profit and quite possibly two or three times that amount.

‘You were lavishing things on yourself from the money you were making from crime while having the front to apply for state benefits at the same time.’

‘What you were making wasn’t enough for you. You wanted some public money as well.’

Mr Joss Ticehurst, prosecuting, said De Escofet was seen dealing in the centre of Newton Abbot in March 2020 and found with two bags of cannabis and £30 on him.

A search of his home uncovered 264 grams of cannabis, £3,727.60 cash, the newly bought Rolex, and a large amount of expensive clothing, all of which had been bought for cash.

There was also a receipt from the Louis Vuitton store in Amsterdam for 390 Euros. The receipts showed he had been spending large amounts since the previous May, when he bought £420 worth of clothes from fashion retailer Flannels.

Mr Barry White, defending, said De Escofet has had a complete change of lifestyle since his arrest, which happened when he was just 18.

He was a care leaver who was drawn into drug dealing by his own use of cannabis. He started by doing it to pay for his own habit but his operation grew into one where he was making a profit from it.