A DRUG dealer caught with cocaine, cannabis and cash after the car he was travelling in was spotted acting suspiciously has been jailed for three years.
Steven Ford was arrested on June 5 with 71 zip-lock bags of cocaine and three large bags of cannabis – all worth £1,420 – after police pulled the car over in Redcar.
The 23-year-old also had £135 in cash and a large canister of nitrous oxide seized by officers.
Teesside crown Court heard how Ford was the front seat of the car and was in possession of a carrier bag stuffed with the illicit drugs.
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Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said Ford pleaded guilty at the first opportunity after the police carried out a roadside check which identified the drug as cocaine.
She said: "To his credit, he didn't require it to be sent off for analysis and delaying matters, therefore, he has saved the public money by pleading guilty."
The court heard how the defendant had a previous conviction for possession of a bladed article and cannabis and received a three-month sentence suspended for 12 months last November.
Ford, of Lothian Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a Class A drug and a Class B drug.
Ashleigh Leach, in mitigation, said her client was 'fairly forthright' since his arrest despite one of the other passengers in the car urging him to stay quiet.
She added: "His involvement was, to some extent, due to naivety and perhaps a bit of exploitation. I don't believe he fully understands the scale of the operation but it is clear he would have understood to some extent."
Recorder Allison Hunter QC sentenced Ford to three years in prison for both offences and three months consecutive for breach of a suspended sentence.
"You are very lightly convicted and you are a very young man of only 23 years, so the sentence is going to be a substantial proportion of your young life – I hope you learn from it," she said. "I'm sorry to have to do this to somebody so young but you leave the court with very little option."
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