A holidaymaker caught with a kilo of cocaine in the boot after crashing his car has been jailed. Paul Lord, 45, was travelling to Devon with his family when his car was involved in an accident on the A30 near Sourton, and he was then arrested after drugs were found, a court heard.
The defendant initially claimed the cocaine was for his own use and he liked to buy in bulk, but he later confessed that he was a courier. Exeter Crown Court heard the drugs had a street value of £80,000.
Lord, from Gloucestershire, admitted possession with intent to supply with the offence dating back to August 2022. He was jailed for three years.
Police attended reports of a collision near Sourton and officers noticed the car smelled of cannabis, leading to the defendant handing over a small bag of weed. But police searched the Range Rover and found a block of cocaine in the boot along with just over £1,000 in cash.
Lord said it was nothing to do with him and then that it was for his personal use. He said he had been going to Devon for a holiday and had bought it for £9,000 at a motorway service station, but was unable to say which one. Prosecutor Peter Coombe said Lord claimed he was addicted to cocaine and used £200 of it a day.
Judge Neil Davey KC said Lord had previous convictions for drugs offences and he accepted he had a limited function within a wider criminal operation.
