A dozy drug dealer who dubbed himself ‘Harry Pothead’ on Instagram to anonymously sell cannabis and cocaine has been unmasked by muggle cops – and given a spell in jail. Jack Hartley, 31, used an Instagram account under this JK Rowling-inspired moniker in order to sell to customers on social media, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
But Merseyside Police did not need magic to discover who he was and now the three-time convicted crook has been sent to his own ‘Azkaban’ and jailed for five years and eight months. Azkaban is the terrifying island prison that houses evil wizards in Harry Potter, and guarded by wraith-like dementors who torment their convicts by draining their happiness and hope.
Jailing Hartley Recorder Louis Browne KC said: “You are still a young man. I very much hope that, when you are released, you will turn a new page in the book of your life.”
The court heard that police spotted an Instagram account under the name “HarryPothead25” which regularly advertised “various flavours and strains of cannabis” for sale, as well as indicating the availability of cocaine by way of the use of a snowflake emoji.
The social media platform subsequently provided the IP address utilised by the page’s owner, which led officers to the door of Hartley’s mum’s home in Tuebrook, Liverpool, on 1st May this year.
Prosecutor Oliver Saddington described how officers then discovered a large carrier bag containing a total of 722.64g of cocaine, divided into smaller packages, inside a cement mixer in the backyard.
They also seized £935.35 in cash, paraphernalia including scales and snap bags and a written note containing login details for the Instagram account during a search.
Hartley was subsequently located inside an adjoining flat, with the 31-year-old found to have smashed several mobile phones and attempted to flush them down the toilet.
One of these had been used in order to set up the Harry Pothead account, with the device further being linked to the defendant via contact with family members.
This latest matter represents his third conviction for drug trafficking offences, while he was also handed a serious crime prevention order by Preston Crown Court in February 2022.
He is required to live at his mother’s address and inform the police of any mobile phones in his possession under the requirements of this SCPO, although there was only “limited evidence” of him having been resident at this property, and he had not notified officers of the device used to operate the Instagram page.
Hartley was out of prison on licence at the time of the raid and has since been recalled.
Daniel Travers, defending, told the court: “The defendant knows that, with his previous convictions, this is deliberate reoffending.
“He would say that he is learning, but he can only prove that upon his release. He has got a future ahead of him, and, at the moment, he is wasting his life. He fully understands the cycle that he is in.”
Hartley admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of criminal property and two counts of failing to comply with a serious crime prevention order.
Appearing in the dock wearing a navy blue and grey Reprimo t-shirt, he was jailed for five years and eight months.
As he was being led to the cells, one of Hartley’s supporters in the public gallery told him: “See you later. Love you.”