Builder turned to selling cocaine after losing job due to Covid 19
Bashkurti was stopped by the police in Hinckley on the A447
A black market construction worker, who was laid off because of the coronavirus, ended up dealing in drugs to make ends meet, a court heard.
Gentjan Bashkurti entered the country illegally and had no means of income when his unofficial cashin-hand building work ceased, Leicester Crown Court was told.
The police stopped him at the wheel of a Skoda on the A447 Ashby Road, in Hinckley, on the afternoon of Friday May 8.
Neil Bannister, prosecuting, said the 28-year-old Albanian national produced a Bulgarian driving licence in the name of someone else, who was the registered keeper of the vehicle - but it did not fool the officers.
During a search, Bashkurti was found to have a deodorant can in his trouser pocket, containing 19 wraps of cocaine with a street value of up to £1,160.
He also had £775 in cash on him, which was seized by the police, along with two mobile phones.
Mr Bannister said Bashkurti was liable for deportation at the end of his sentence.
The defendant, of no fixed address, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply it and possession of criminal cash.
Sentencing Bashkurti, who appeared via a live video link from prison, Judge Robert Brown said: “You were clearly involved in street dealing in class A drugs.
“You have no known previous convictions in the UK and I’m told you have no convictions in Albania.
“You were on your own when you were stopped by the police.
“The cash presumably came directly from dealing in drugs.”
Thomas McGarvey, mitigating, said: “He came to the UK unlawfully about a year ago and ended up working in the building trade until the emergence of the pandemic.
“Work in the construction trade reduced and he was out of a job.
“His mother, in Albania, is financially dependent on him.
“He didn’t come to the UK intending to become involved in drugs.
“He was offered the role by members of his community, as they were aware of his desperate situation and he naively agreed to get involved in selling drugs.
“He’s expressed remorse and says he is ‘very sorry.’ “
Bashkurti was jailed for three years.
The defendant’s cash and mobile phones were confiscated by the court.
The judge ordered destruction of the drugs.