A DRUGS courier who was caught with cocaine worth £500,000 as he drove along the M6 through Cumbria has admitted his guilt.

At Carlisle Crown Court, Ashley Makin, 32, who was caught after police stopped his Vauxhall Insignia car on the motorway near Shap on Friday, July 1, pleaded guilty to possessing the Class A drug with intent to supply.

The court heard that when police searched the defendant’s car, they found it contained a 5kg consignment of cocaine.

Though the details have yet to be outlined in full, the defendant could not be sentenced because he has not yet provided a basis for his guilty plea, specifying how much he knew about the drugs and what role he played in the supply operation.

Judge Ian Unsworth QC said the gravity of the case meant there had to be clarity about the defendant’s situation. In such cases, drugs couriers face longer sentences if the court accepts they played a “significant” role in the supply operation.

In cases where it is accepted that defendants have been placed under duress, or played a lesser role in the supply, the sentence is often significantly reduced.

The court heard that the defendant had accepted being a courier but he claimed that he was “not trusted” by those higher up the supply chain and he was followed as he made the trip to Newcastdle during which he was caught.

Tim Evans, for the prosecution, said it would be argued that Makin was a trusted courier for the drugs and that he had made previous drug delivery trips.

Defence barrister Amrit Jandoo said the defendant, of Cawdor Court, Farnworth, Bolton, was anxious to have his case resolved. He asked that the case be adjourned for two weeks.

Adjourning the sentencing hearing until September 21, so a written basis of plea can be prepared and considered by the prosecution, Judge Unsworth said: “I’m quite satisfied, given the gravity of this case, there should be clarity to the factual case on which the defendant is sentenced.”

He told Makin that he needs to engage with his legal team but in the meantime he must remain in custody.

Records show that in 2017, Makin was jailed with another man for a terrifying robbery at a McDonald’s restaurant in Stockport two years earlier.

The court which dealt with that case heard that he and an accomplice - their faces hidden beneath masks - went behind the counter and threatened the manager with the meat cleaver during the early morning raid.

They forced the manager to open the safe before fleeing with £1,700 in cash.