A man from Newport who had an epileptic seizure while driving with cocaine worth up to £600,000 in his car has been sent to prison for four years and three months.
Robert Jones, 37, of Agincourt Street, was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Monday. He had admitted possession with intent to supply a class A drug, having agreed to carry the drugs to clear a £3,000 debt he owed to dealers.
Taken ill behind the wheel
The court heard Jones became unwell while driving on 24 August and suffered a seizure. Police and paramedics were sent to help him. In the passenger footwell they found four brick-like packages.
What the packages held
Inside was a white powder, which tested positive for cocaine when it was examined.
The court was told the cocaine amounted to wholesale quantities worth between £135,000 and £157,000. Split into street deals and sold, it could have fetched as much as £600,000.
Arrest and guilty plea
Once arrested, Jones told officers they would find no messages about drugs on his phone, and that proved to be true.
He later pleaded guilty. The court heard he already has convictions for drug driving.
The defence case
Clare Wilks, mitigating, said her client had come under financial pressure because of a debt he owed to his drug dealer, and he had been forced to work it off.
Jones had worked as a welder but lost that job. After suffering seizures, he was diagnosed with epilepsy.
He went on to drink heavily and use cocaine, running up a debt of £3,000. To pay it off, his dealer made him act as a courier.
Sentencing
Judge Richard Kember jailed Jones for four years and three months.
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