A MAN acted as a regular courier on cross-country drug runs to bring heroin and cannabis to a North-East town, a court heard.

Inquiries into mobile phone records and vehicle number plate recognition revealed Joseph Hockaday made ten trips to Liverpool to collect consignments of drugs between December 2014 and June 2015.

Durham Crown Court heard that Hockaday transported the packages back for onward supply to dealers in the Hartlepool area.

Robin Turton, prosecuting, said it was after that tenth trip that Hockaday was stopped returning from Merseyside in his BMW, as he reached the home he shared with his partner, in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, on June 30, 2015.

Officers recovered half a kilogram of heroin with 16-per cent purity from the car.

Mr Turton said this was considered to be worth £25,350 in street sale terms, or between £5,000 and £10,000 in wholesale costs.

Mobile phones recovered from the car and house revealed a text suggesting Hockaday was intending to travel to Hartlepool later, which the prosecution presumed was to deliver the drugs.

Hockaday told police he travelled two hours to collect a package which was to be taken to another location for which he was to be paid £400 for the delivery.

In later interviews he made no comment.

Mr Turton told the court: “The telephone evidence discloses links between Hockaday and the original source, while the pattern indicates he was more than a mere ‘courier’ and would have expected substantial financial gain reflective of his trusted role in the operation.”

Following previous not guilty pleas to conspiracy to supply a class A drug, new counts of conspiracy to supply cannabis were admitted by Hockaday and two men from the Hartlepool area, last September.

Hockaday, 37, now of Welland Close, Peterlee, also admitted possessing heroin with intent to supply.

Mr Turton said the two Hartlepool men were jailed for ten-months each, in February, but Hockaday was considered to have played a more leading role in the operation.

Andrew Rutter, mitigating, said the defendant was of previous good character, but became involved in drug running after being made redundant from his job of 14 years with a worldwide computer company.

Mr Rutter said Hockaday was unable to find alternative work and, in desperation, agreed to an offer to drive to Liverpool to pick up cannabis.

On the tenth such trip it emerged it was a different drug to the usual cannabis consignment.

Following his arrest, Mr Rutter said Hockaday worked in a factory and as a hod-carrier to support his family.

He presented several character testimonials to the court, plus a letter of regret from the defendant.

Jailing him for six years, Judge Simon Hickey told Hockaday in his view, he, “knew exactly what he would have been moving.”

The judge ordered forfeiture and destruction of the seized drugs and other paraphernalia.