A CARLISLE man has been handed a three-year prison term for his involvement in a cocaine supply plot.
Josh Whittaker’s week-long role in the conspiracy came to light after a criminal from the Merseyside area was arrested by police who spotted a speeding northbound Audi on the M6, south of the city, on September 15. That man, 27-year-old Aaron James Green, had £24,000 worth of cocaine stashed in his underwear.
Carlisle Crown Court heard today (THURS) that Green was on his way to see Whittaker. Police guessed Green’s mobile phone PIN and discovered he had been in regular text and voice call contact with 25-year-old Whittaker in the days before officers stopped the car.
Just hours before that stoppage, scaffolder Whittaker had paid £170 into Green’s mother’s bank account. And shortly after Green’s arrest, Whittaker sent him a text saying: “Don’t let me down. I’ve got loads of people after (the drug).”
Whittaker, who was said to have agreed to buy cocaine he was planning to sell, admitted conspiracy to supply the class A substance. A man of previous good character and “impressive work ethic”, he was said to have committed the offence in a bid to clear debt.
Whittaker, of Springfield Road, Harraby, was jailed by Judge Peter Davies. “There is a view that cocaine is a recreational drug, and it’s harmless and acceptable to use,” Judge Davies said, describing the substance as “horrible, odious stuff”.
“It is not a view to which I subscribe. People who take cocaine mix it with alcohol and their life frequently reduces to a life of misery.”
Green was jailed for five years in December for possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
