Police found £20k of drugs hidden inside dummy

OFFICERS who searched a house found almost £20,000 worth of cannabis packed into a martial arts training dummy in the back garden, a court heard yesterday.

A prosecution barrister at Londonderry Crown Court said police officers searched the property under the Misuse of Drugs Act last year.

The barrister said inside the dummy the police found three large bin bags containing 720 grams of cannabis, and a further 214 grams of cannabis were found packed into nine small deal bags inside the house.

The prosecutor disclosed the details during the plea and sentence hearing of 28-year-old George Campbell, inside and outside whose house at Glendale Road the drugs were found last April 13.

During the search operation the police also found a quantity of cocaine and gold jewellery valued at £1,400.

Under a pillow on Campbell’s bed the officers found a wallet containing £1,240.

Campbell, whose fingerprints were found on the bin liners inside the dummy, had three previous drugs convictions.

He pleaded guilty to possessing the cannabis with intent to supply the drug, possessing cocaine and possessing criminal property, namely a gold necklace and bracelet and £1,240.

The prosecutor told Judge Philip Babington that in April 2015 Campbell was jailed for 18 months for other drugs offences.

He was released on licence halfway through his sentence and he was caught with the cannabis and cocaine just six months after his licence period had expired. During numerous police interviews Campbell said he was keeping the drugs for a third party, whom he refused to name. He said that the cash was a combination of his benefits payments, money from his mother and gambling winnings.

He said he intended using the money to pay for driving lessons.

A defence barrister said Campbell, who passed nine drugs tests when in custody, last month failed his driving test. He said Campbell hoped to break away from his drugs lifestyle and planned to move away from Der- ry. A police officer said the drugs found during the search operation had been bagged and ready to supply to street dealers.

The officer said: “He is not a top level dealer and he is not the leader of an organised criminal gang, but he is above the level of an ordinary street dealer directly involved in supplying street dealers.”

The defendant was remanded in custody and will be sentenced for the offences next Wednesday.