Lorry driver four times over drug-drive limit on A48

A lorry driver behind the wheel of a 7.5 tonne DAF truck has been banned from the roads after testing more than four times the legal limit for a cocaine derivative.

Wayne Saliba was driving on the A48 in Newport when he was stopped and tested positive with 240 microgrammes of benzoylecgonine – a cocaine breakdown product – per litre of blood. The legal limit stands at just 50 microgrammes per litre, meaning the 51-year-old was nearly five times over the threshold.

The offence took place on 30 September last year, and Saliba appeared before Newport Magistrates’ Court where he entered a guilty plea to the drug-driving charge.

Saliba, from Caerwent Close in Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan, was handed a 17-month driving disqualification. He was also ordered to pay £365, covering his fine, court costs and a victim surcharge.