A MOTORIST whose untaxed car was stopped by police on the M6 in north Cumbria was carrying £10,000 in criminal cash. 

The money found crammed into 45-year-old Colin Lewis's jacket pocket as he drove south on the M6 was the proceeds of drug dealing north of the border, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Police also later found cocaine worth around £5,000 at his home, along with other evidence of his involvement in the drugs trade.

The defendant admitted being concerned in supplying the Class A drug while making five trips along the M6 through Cumbria to Glasgow, possessing the drug with intent to supply, and possessing criminal property, the £10,000.

Prosecutor Tim Evans outlined the facts.

He said that police stopped Lewis’s Ford Fiesta on November 29 last year and, not being satisfied with the answers he gave when quizzed about his journey, they decided to search him and the car.  

“They found a small quantity of cannabis and £10,000 – mostly in Scottish bank notes – in his jacket pocket,” said Mr Evans. The defendant also tested positive for cocaine.

The barrister then summarised what police found when they searched the defendant’s home address.

There were 25 small “wrap-sized” bags of cocaine, and a larger bag of the same drug. In total, there was some 50g of the Class A drug. “There were also some digital scales, rolls of bags and the paraphernalia which would be required for drug dealing,” said Mr Evans.

The defendant, of Elmfield Close, St Helens, admitted possessing the drug on the basis that he was “warehousing” the cocaine. Police investigations showed Lewis had previously made four similar trips to Glasgow.

On Lewis’s mobile phone police found photos of white powder in bags – similar to those at his home, and images of ‘flat-bath’ chemical containers, the kind used to impregnate paper with the drug spice, though Lewis was not charged with this.

Lewis’s record consisted of two drink driving offences and a battery but no previous drug related offences.

Marion Weir, defending, said the defendant’s offending spanned a six-week period and came as he faced personal difficulties, including the breakdown of his marriage, eviction from his home, and the loss of his £30,000 per railways job. 

A knee-problem requiring surgery in 2022 had a further impact on his ability to earn money. Council Tax arrears and other debts left him with a debt of £35,000 to £40,000 while in April last year he made a “serious attempt” on his own life.

“He was in dire straits,” said Miss Weir.

“He became involved in the drugs scene and drug use and saw an opportunity and was provided with an opportunity for a way out of his debts.”

References showed that his offending had been “out of character,” added Miss Weir.

Judge Michael Fanning told Lewis: “The drugs business is a dirty business. Judges say this time and time again; and judges deal with all sorts of criminals and very many of them are drug addicts. Those who get addicted to class A drugs find it difficult to stop.”

Unable to afford those drugs, they often turn to crime to fund their habit.

Accepting that Lewis was not a career criminal, Judge Fanning said many people face a run of bad luck, but the majority do not involve themselves in “the filthy business of supplying drugs.”

He jailed Lewis for three years and two months.