A man caught by Cumbria police as he transported 1kg of cocaine potentially worth £100,000 along the M6 had been handed a lengthy prison sentence.
Asllan Byberi, 31, was stopped due to the manner of his driving while behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf southbound, close to Southwaite services, between Carlisle and Penrith, on the late afternoon of March 1.
Police noted Byberi to be nervous, searched the vehicle and under a front passenger seat found a bag containing a block of white power. This was found to be 1.1kg of cocaine which a police drugs expert later concluded to have an estimated potential street value of around £100,000.
Byberi — who initially gave false details to police — was arrested, brought to court and later admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply. This was on the basis that he was a courier for crooks further up the criminal chain and had been making a one-off trip. He also admitted driving without insurance.
At Carlisle Crown Court today, Byberi, of Lisbon Street, Rochdale, was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Judge Andrew Jefferies KC noted that the defendant had been given a 37-month prison sentence almost a decade ago at Basildon Crown Court for exactly the same type of drugs supply offence.
“I’m sure you’ve been told this already,” said Judge Jefferies, “if you don’t stay off the gear and you start being involved in drugs again, the next sentence will start at seven years and that will be ever-increasing.”
Defendants face mandatory minimum seven-year jail terms once they committed a third drugs supply crime.
