DAD-OF-3 ON BENEFITS AGREED TO LOOK AFTER £20K DRUGS FOR £150

‘Naive’ man jailed after cocaine is found at his home

‘FOOLISH’ dad-of-three Mark Pritchard has been jailed after he ‘looked after’ more than £20,000 of drugs at his home.

The 43-year-old was due to be paid £150 if he stored the cocaine, crack cocaine, diamorphine and amphetamine.

But Pritchard – who was living on benefits – was never paid after police raided the address.

Now Pritchard, of Winghay Place, Chell Heath, has been locked up for two years and three months.

Prosecutor Fiona Cortese told Stoke-on-trent Crown Court police visited Pritchard’s home with a search warrant on April 4.

He let officers in and was asked if there were drugs in the property and he admitted there were. He then showed them where they were stored. A large quantity of drugs was recovered, including: ■ Eleven bags containing 72.4g of diamorphine worth over £7,000; ■ 14.2g of cocaine worth more than £1,000; ■ Crack cocaine worth between £4,440 and £9,920; ■ More crack cocaine with a street value of between £10,000’ and 12,500; ■ Amphetamine worth up to £1,500.

Pritchard said ‘no comment’ to all questions in his police interview. But he later pleaded guilty to four counts of possession with intent to supply, on the basis he was not dealing himself. In his plea statement, accepted by the prosecution, Pritchard said he had agreed to ‘look after’ the drugs for £150, which he never received.

Jason Holt, mitigating, told the court: “People asked him to store some items for a relatively small amount and he succumbed. He had no idea of the value or quantity, but he knew he was doing something he shouldn’t.

“He was on benefits at the time and he was offered this money.”

Sentencing, Judge David Fletcher told Pritchard: “I suspect there was a degree of naivete. You did not know the nature and the value, but you were very foolish.”