Courier thought drugs in van were dog meat
A DRUGS courier caught redhanded with thousands of pounds of amphetamine in his van said he thought it was dog meat.
Trusted courier Andrew Wilkinson had 20 kilos of the drug when police pulled him over.
Analysis of his phone showed he had made trips to Manchester and Liverpool and there were messages relating to drugs supply.
After he was arrested, Wilkinson gave a prepared statement to police saying he believed he was delivering dog meat to pay off a debt.
However, he later pleaded guilty to possessing the drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for 30 months at Newcastle Crown Court.
It was around 3.45pm on September 3, 2019 that Wilkinson, of Wyedale Way, Walker was pulled over in his VW Caddy van on the A194 in Gateshead heading towards South Shields.
It was a targeted stop and Wilkinson’s barrister said he had been “burned” or set up.
Police found £1,000 cash in his shorts pocket and ten heat-sealed bags of high-purity amphetamine.
They weighed more than 12 kilos when dry but when made wet to be sold on would weigh 20 kilos and be worth between £30,000 and £60,000 and would be expected to be cut at least one more time.
Wilkinson’s fingerprint was found on one of the bags, the court heard.
Neil Pallister, prosecuting, said:
“He gave a prepared statement denying knowledge of the drugs. He suggested he had been asked to deliver dog meat to pay off debts he had. That was not accepted by the Crown.”
Judge Edward Legard insisted only immediate custody could be justified and said Wilkinson should have thought about his caring responsibilities before he became involved in the offence.
Richard Bloomfield, defending, said after the case was initially discontinued Wilkinson faced unfounded suspicions he was an informant. He added: “This was a targeted stop. The police had been tipped off and he was burned and set up to fail when he collected the drugs. He was a courier, he was in debt and there is nothing to suggest he had influence on those above him in the chain. It is a single quantity of drugs on a single day.”