A MAN caught with a kit for making the banned synthetic substance spice has been jailed.
Paul Benson, 48, was pulled over by police for driving erratically in West Cumbria last August.
When asked where he was going, Benson couldn’t provide coherent answers and his car was searched. Inside, officers found three mobile phones, a set of digital weighing scales, £850 cash and 325 diazepam tablets.
Also located was a herbal material weighing almost half a kilo. Carlisle Crown Court heard that, had this been “impregnated” with the contents of two bottles containing liquid also found in the car, it could be sold as banned substance “spice” on the open market, potentially for £4,900.
More diazepam tablets and cash were recovered at Benson’s home. Phone messages were found to contain “coded messages” for drugs, the court was told.
Benson, of Barncroft Avenue, Seaton, Workington, admitted possessing two class B controlled drugs and one class B substance, all with intent to supply. The drugs, respectively, are mmb-fubinaca, fluoro-mdmb-pinaca and diazepam.
In addition, Benson admitted having criminal property – cash – and possessing a fake blue parking badge.
Lawyer Paul Tweddle conceded that Benson had been transporting a “drug-making kit, to make spice”. “This was a first attempt to do this,” said Mr Tweddle. “He had no idea it could be worth £4,900.”
He added: “It was very much experimental on his part.”
Judge James Adkin jailed Benson for a year, saying: “Everybody knows the misery that spice causes.”
