Drug courier jailed

AN IPSWICH man who had more than two and a half kilos of extra strength cannabis in the boot of his car has been jailed.

Police stopped Andrew Crick on suspicion of drug dealing as he drove along the A12 at Copdock on January 10 this year.

In the boot police discovered two bags of herbal cannabis valued at around £8,740. A set of scales and some mobile telephones were also found on the back seat of Crick's car.

A search of the 28-year-old's home revealed £2,000 in cash, another set of scales and two prohibited CS gas canisters.

Michael Crimp, prosecuting at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday said three other types of illegal drugs were also found in small amounts during the search and Crick, of Mountbatten Court asked for the three offences to be taken into consideration when he was sentenced.

Crick pleaded guilty to possession of Class C drugs with intent to supply and to possessing a prohibited weapon.

The court heard that the strength of the herbal cannabis was very high and was classed as "skunk".

Simon Spence, mitigating, said Crick should be given maximum credit for his very early guilty pleas. He said his client was not a drug dealer but was a drug courier who was due to be paid to collect the cannabis from London.

He said: "Couriers are an important part of the system, without them dealers would find it much more difficult to operate but there is a big difference between couriers and drug dealers."

Mr Spence said Crick had the CS gas as protection from his previous neighbours. He said there was no connection between the possession of the sprays and the drugs.

Judge David Goodin said: "It may be right that you were 'only' a courier in this transaction but you remain an important lynchpin in the operation".

He added that the CS gas was "wholly and entirely prohibited". Crick was jailed for a total of two years. He is due to return to court on May 16 for a proceeds of crime hearing to determine what should be confiscated from Crick.