A COCAINE courier was jailed for four years yesterday after he was caught with more than £60,000 worth of the drug.

Alex Hand, 25, admitted possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply at Teesside Crown Court.

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said police had spotted Hand sitting in his M-reg Audi car in the car park of Conroys in Stockton on Friday, September 28, last year, at about 2pm.

In the car they found a knife, a set of electronic scales and a plastic bag full of powder. Mr Dodds said officers detected the smell of almonds in the car, often associated with cocaine. He said the officers found two packages, one of 491g of the drug and one of 497g, nearly one kg of cocaine in total.

Mr Dodds said the car had been bought by Hand, of Wharfdale Close, Ingleby Barwick, near Middlesbrough, for £6,500 even though he was out of work.

He said Hand told police he had been told to pick up the drugs in North Ormesby and then take them to Conroys car park. He said he did not realise what was in the bag.

Stephen Ashurst, defending, said Hand had been acting as a courier to pay off his drug debts as he was a heroin user.

Judge Peter Armstrong ordered that Hand's car be confiscated and said only a long custodial sentence was suitable because of the amount of drugs and the type.