A drug courier caught with almost £19,000 of cocaine in the boot of his brand new BMW told police it was “fish paste”.
Russell Edwards’ BMW 3 Series was pulled over by police on the A40 as he made an early-morning run from Birmingham to Carmarthen , a court heard.
The defendant told officers the white powder they recovered from the fishing tackle bag in the boot was “fish paste” when in fact it was almost £19,000 worth of cocaine.
Edwards would later tell police he got involved in transporting the drug to pay off a £300 cannabis debt owed to his dealer.
Swansea Crown Court heard that on the morning of May 5, 2018, police received information that a black BMW travelling to Carmarthenshire may be carrying a quantity of drugs.
Dyfed Thomas, prosecuting, said officers located the vehicle travelling along the A40 between Llandovery and Llandeilo and later stopped the car.
The court heard the driver of the car, 46-year-old Edwards, appeared “agitated and nervous” when officers approached – the barrister said “perhaps this was not surprising given what the officers found”.
In a fishing tackle bag in the boot were two plastic bags containing cocaine with a street value of £18,900.
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The court heard Edwards initially told officers the substance was “fish paste” but, while being driven to Ammanford police station, made an unsolicited comment that it was amphetamine.
A subsequent search of his house revealed six cannabis plants, another seven cannabis seedlings in the garden shed, and a “bucket” of cannabis in the kitchen containing 265g of the Class B drug.
Edwards, of Blaenwaun, Whitland , Carmarthenshire, admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply on the basis that he believed he was transporting was amphetamine, production of cannabis, and possession of cannabis.
Judge Paul Thomas QC said he was not content to proceed to sentence given the basis of the plea and a Newton hearing was held where Edwards went into the witness box to give evidence.
Under oath he told the judge he had run up a £300 debt to his cannabis dealer in Carmarthen and had been told that he could “wipe” the bill by collecting a delivery of amphetamine from Birmingham.
In response to questions from his barrister, Carina Hughes, Edwards said he drove to the car park of an Asda supermarket in Birmingham where a man he did not know approached his vehicle and, without speaking, put a package in the boot. He said he then drove back home to Wales and said his instructions were to go to a car park in Carmarthen where another man he did not know would collect the package.
The defendant insisted he had been told the drug involved was amphetamine. He added he did not know how the police learned about the fact there were drugs in the car.
Edwards told the court he had started using cannabis as pain relief following a serious car crash in 1995 which had left him with “excruciating pain” from leg and arm injuries and that he used around £50 of the drug per week.
He said he had only had the BWM in question a matter of weeks having just acquired it through the Motability scheme.
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Judge Thomas said he found the defendant’s description of the drug collection arrangements “comical” and said he did not believe a dealer would entrust a shipment of such a size to an “ignorant courier” with no idea of what was going on.
He said he believed Edwards had clearly known the true nature of what he was trafficking.
The judge added: “There are several factors which lead me to the sure view that this story is nonsense.”
Edwards was jailed for three years.
