A NERVOUS motorist whose car was stopped by the police on the M6 near Shap was carrying a wallet stuffed with cash – and cocaine worth £800,000, a court heard.
Father-of-six Mark McAvoy, 39, who was returning north after a trip of Wigan, was transporting a consignment of cocaine weighing more than 11 kilograms.
Inside his Vauxhall Insignia car, which was stopped in the mid-afternoon of New Year’s Eve, the police officers also found a wallet stuffed with £855 in cash.
During a hearing before magistrates on New Year’s Day, McAvoy admitted three offences: possessing criminal property – the cash – and possessing the class A drugs cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.
At Carlisle Crown Court this week, prosecutor Paul Treble summarised the facts.
It was 2.30pm on New Year's Eve when officers patrolling the M6 noticed a black Vauxhall car travelling north, he said. A defect of some sort prompted the officers to stop the car.
Noticing that the defendant appeared to be nervous, the officers listened as McAvoy claimed he had been to Wigan to see a female, said Mr Treble.
“He started stuttering,” said Mr Treble. The officers also noticed that McAvoy was not named as being insured to drive the car.
During a search of the car, the officers found plastic wrapped “bricks” of cocaine with a combined weight of 11.46 kilograms. Police estimated the cocaine’s street value to be around £800,000.
Also found was 37gs of heroin and more cocaine.
The defendant admitted his guilt on the basis that he was a courier, who was to be paid £1,000 for delivering the drugs to Paisley in Scotland where he lives.
Gerard Rogerson, defending, said McAvoy appreciated that he had made a “stupid mistake,” possibly the “biggest mistake of his life.”
The barrister said McAvoy’s knowledge of what he was transporting extended to knowing only that it was likely to be illegal drugs. “The weight and value came as something of a shock,” said Mr Rogerson.
He accepted the courier role after discussing the issue online. He did it to make money and now deeply regretted the decision, the court heard.
“The motivation behind this offending was purely financial and a lack of employment,” continued Mr Rogerson, adding that while in custody McAvoy had taken courses to help him find work.
Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Barker highlighted crime and human misery are fuelled by the drugs trade, including crimes such as burglary and theft and violence.
He jailed McAvoy, of Millarston Avenue, Paisley, for 44 months.
After the hearing, Detective Constable Hugh Poward said: “This is the latest example of our officers stopping a vehicle travelling through the county and uncovering evidence of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs offences.
“This stop resulted in a significant amount of drugs being recovered and a prison sentence being handed down by the courts.
“We have officers on our county’s roads 24/7, 365 days a year on the lookout for people involved in the supply of drugs.”
If you suspect someone is involved in drug supply in your community, contact the police today. You can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/reportit. You can also phone on 101.
Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
