A Liverpool man has been jailed after police found high purity cocaine hidden in a Home Bargains bag during a motorway stop. Jamie Woods, 30, of Duke Street in Liverpool city centre, was stopped at junction 14 of the M5 by Avon and Somerset Police officers in June.
Hidden compartment discovery
A search of the van he was driving uncovered two brick-like items suspected to be drugs from a purpose-built, electronically-operated compartment under the front passenger seat. A picture released by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) showed the drugs were stashed inside a Home Bargains' bag inside a backpack.
The items were tested and found to be two kilo blocks of 85% purity cocaine. The investigation was then passed onto the specialist SWROCU.
Court sentencing
Woods pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a class A drug and on Thursday was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to three years and three months in prison.
Detective Sergeant Stuart Cumine, from the SWROCU, said: "This result demonstrates our determination to disrupt the criminal networks responsible for supplying drugs into the south west."
"By seizing two kilograms of cocaine before it reached the streets of Newquay, we have removed a significant threat and denied organised criminals a substantial source of income."
"We will continue to use every tool available to identify, target and prosecute those involved in the supply of illegal drugs."
