‘Brought to justice’: 26-year-old sentenced for placing drug-dealing barcodes around town

A 26-year-old has been sentenced for his role in placing barcodes around town which are believed to have led to a drug-dealing service.The small circular signs, which featured a golden marijuana leaf emblazoned with the words “get your delivery”, sprouted up throughout Lynn towards the end of last year.The Lynn News attempted to scan the barcodes to investigate where the links led to, but we were met with a warning message reading: “Your QR code is blocked. Probably this page was phishing.”

However, national media reports suggested that when pointing a smartphone camera at the barcodes, they provided a link to a “glossy online drug supermarket, featuring cannabis products with false claims of its products being legal”.Now, Timas Raskacajevas, of Devonshire Road in Great Yarmouth, has been sentenced in relation to the matter.He learned his fate at a hearing on September 21 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, having previously pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal damage. He has been handed a 12-month conditional discharge, while he will also pay £1,000 in compensation to West Norfolk Council, a £26 victim surcharge, and £85 in court costs.Cllr Jo Rust, the borough council’s cabinet member for people and communities, said: “I’ve seen that this kind of criminal damage has taken place across the country.“I would like to thank the diligent and thorough work carried out by our community safety, noise and nuisance team at the borough council, along with the support from Norfolk Police, for investigating this, protecting our community from criminal activity, potential phishing for personal information or installing malware, and bringing the individual to justice.”