An Albanian national has admitted being a criminal courier of cannabis after a large quantity of the illegal drug was found in a vehicle stopped on the M6 in South Cumbria.
Halil Xhediku, 22, had been due to stand trial at Carlisle Crown Court earlier today. Xhediku had previously pleaded not guilty to possessing the class B controlled drug with intent to supply it to another on May 19 last year.
But when he appeared in the dock, assisted by an interpreter, Xhediku changed his plea to guilty.
Laura Broome, defending, said that the guilty plea had been entered on a formal basis. “That basis is that he had a limited function in the capacity of a courier,” she said. “He had no influence on those above in the chain.”
Xhediku was the passenger of a vehicle stopped by police as it travelled on the southbound carriageway of the motorway near Killington. He has been remanded in custody since last May, the court heard.
No weight or estimated potential value of the drug was stated during the short hearing.
A second man, 30-year-old Redjon Gjolena — the driver — had pleaded guilty to the same charge on an earlier occasion.
Xhediku and Gjolena, both of no fixed address, are due to be sentenced by a judge at the crown court tomorrow, January 12.
