A waiter who lost his job during the pandemic turned to dealing cannabis after a chance encounter with a ‘North London’ man.

Gaetano Mata, now 24, was the backseat passenger in a VW Polo stopped by the police in Horse Fair, Banbury, in April 2021.

The car was on the police radar after it was seen in what the court heard were ‘suspicious circumstances’ in Upper Heyford.

Found in the car with him was a yellow iPhone, more than £460 in cash, and bagged-up cannabis.

It was enough for police to go and search his house, where they found a large amount of cannabis as well as a small quantity of MDMA, a class A drug better known by its street name of ecstasy.

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The cannabis found by the police officers was worth a total of £1,090 on the streets, prosecutor Cathy Olliver said.

When he was interviewed, Mata claimed to have lost his job a week ago and had been approached by a North London man, who provided him with the yellow iPhone and introduced him to the cannabis trade.

Shortly before being stopped by the police, one of his friends in the car had bought a ‘weed cake’ from an unknown man, he said.

Appearing before Oxford Crown Court on Thursday (July 27), Mata, of Ballam High Road, London, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a class B drug and personal possession of class A drug ecstasy.

Defending, Claire Fraser said her client had no previous convictions and, since his arrest, had moved back to Italy, had a partner and a young baby.

Mata’s account of why he was in Banbury with the cannabis mirrored what he told the police two-and-a-half years ago.

Having lost his job as a waiter he was approached by a man ‘he said was from North London’, who encouraged him to supply the cannabis, Ms Fraser told the court.

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She reminded the judge that the dealing only took place over a short period of time.

He was given a 10 month suspended sentence by Judge Ian Pringle KC. He told the defendant: “Dealing drugs on the streets of this country is regarded as a very serious matter, even if it is class B.

“I am quite satisfied this case passes the custody threshold. I think you had a significant role in dealing drugs, but I accepted you were led into that after losing your employment because of the pandemic.”

The prison sentence was suspended for two years, meaning that he will not have to serve the jail time behind bars unless he gets into further trouble.

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