A DRUGS courier caught with Ecstasy tablets worth £45,000 was jailed for five years yesterday.
Charles Hutchinson, 29, was arrested by a specialist drugs unit after he collected 3,044 tablets from Leeds.
Detectives from the National Crime Squad operation were trailing his Astra Cabriolet as he drove south down the A19, but they lost him in heavy traffic.
He was spotted on the return trip and he was pulled over by a police traffic car in a speed check ruse on the A1M in North Yorkshire. The drugs were found in the car boot, said Detective Sergeant Brian Roper, of NCS.
Hutchinson, of Bank Street, Guisborough, in east Cleveland, told Teesside Crown Court that he had agreed to collect a package to pay off a debt. He denied a charge of possessing Ecstasy with intent to supply it on June 24.
But the jury found him guilty.
Judge Leslie Spittle ordered that the drugs be forfeited
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article