A FATHER-OF-TWO has been slammed by a judge after he admitted buying stolen goods and dealing drugs.

Kurt Schroeder, of Cavendish Gardens, Westcliff, admitted buying a stolen Apple Mac, worth £1,000, for just £50 and dealing cannabis, when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court.

He was handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Schroeder, 33, was rapped by Recorder Martyn Royall, who told him that without people willing to buy and sell stolen property, there would be fewer burglaries.

Mr Royall said: “Handling stolen goods is as bad as the original theft. If there were no handlers, there would be no market for the theft.”

The court heard police raided Schroeder’s home on October 21 and found a quantity of herbal cannabis, £1,000 cash and dealers’ lists.

During the raid they also found a licenced black handgun and an Apple Mac Pro computer stashed on top of a bedroomwardrobe.

Further investigation by Essex Police found the computer had been stolen in a burglary at a house in Fairfax Drive, Westcliff, on January 10, 2012.

Officers also searched Schroeder’s Ford Focus and found small packets of drugs andamobile phone – used as a drugs “hotline” – in the driver’s side door pocket.

The court heard the mobile rang “constantly” while officers were searching the vehicle.

In mitigation, the court heard Schroeder had a heavy drug habit, smoking between 15 and 20 joints a day.

The court heard he was selling cannabis to fund his own habit, but he had nowcut back his habit to about three joints a day.

Sentencing Schroeder, Mr Royall added: “You know cannabis is illegal. It is an obnoxious trade and a drug that causes immense stress, misery and upset within families and communities.

“You told the probation service yourself that you know it can cause depression and psychotic illnesses.”