A former soldier caught with cocaine potentially worth around £72,000 on the A66 near Keswick made several trips to Merseyside in the weeks before he was stopped by police, a prosecutor has said.
Haythem Magdy Selim, 42, has heard custody is now “almost inevitable” for a crime which came to light on May 18 this year, Selim was stopped in a vehicle which had been travelling westbound on the A66 at Braithwaite on that date.
Around three-quarters of a kilo of cocaine potentially worth around £72,000 was found inside.
Selim, of Irt Avenue, Whitehaven, appeared at Carlisle Crown Court.
Appearing remotely over a video link from custody, he admitted possessing the class A drug with intent to supply.
Initially Selim had submitted a formal basis for the entering of that guilty plea.
But his lawyer, Sean Harkin, told Judge Nicholas Barker: “The defendant has made a decision to abandon that basis. It is a guilty plea on the full facts.”
Gerard Rogerson, for the prosecution, said in response: “There is, in my possession, quite extensive information which undermines that basis.
“The overall nature of it is that the Crown put this case as Mr Selim being involved in trips to the Merseyside area between February and May.”
Judge Barker remarked that Selim was “facing custody for the first time”, but agreed to Mr Harkin’s request for a probation service pre-sentence report to be prepared in the coming weeks.
“This is a defendant of previous good character,” said Mr Harkin, who believed the court should know more about him before punishment was passed.
Judge Barker adjourned the case until July 23, when Selim will learn his fate.
“It is a serious charge as well you know,” the judge told him.
“You know that it is likely, almost inevitably, to be a custodial sentence but I will allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared on you as you have not previously been involved in the criminal justice system.”
At a previous court hearing, Mr Harkin revealed Selim had served in Iraq with the army, leaving with an exemplary record, had also worked on oil rigs and had strong ties in West Cumbria.
