POLICE recovered a bag of cocaine only a short time after a regular user paid for the drug, a court heard.
Officers executing a search warrant at David Ainsworth's home, in Tate Avenue, Kelloe, near Durham, on December 1, found a plastic bag containing white powder hidden in a cup in the kitchen.
Geoff Taylor, prosecuting, told Durham Crown Court that forensic examinations revealed the powder was 27.6g of 16 per cent-pure cocaine.
When interviewed, Ainsworth admitted it was his and told officers he had paid £500 for the bag only half-an-hour before the raid.
He told police it was time to end his addiction, which had led to him taking increasingly larger amounts of the drug.
Ainsworth, 33, of previous good character, admitted possessing a class A drug.
He was ordered to perform 200-hours' community punishment and pay £350 costs.
Judge Michael Taylor told Ainsworth that if he became involved in the supply chain or repeated the offence, he would be sent to prison
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