A MAN who was arrested at Hapsford Services in Chester, along with two other men, was jailed for 18 months for possessing and intending to supply cocaine.
Keith Rowlands, aged 42, of Maes Gwynedd, Caernarfon, pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to supply £2,000 worth of cocaine.
Chester Crown Court heard that more than three times that amount of drugs was found in the Volvo van when it was stopped by police at Hapsford Services in Chester on April 18 this year.
Defending, Owen Edwards said: “Mr Rowlands admitted that 112 grams of that cocaine belonged to him as well as the amount he was seen snorting in the passenger seat of the vehicle.”
The court heard how Rowlands had taken cocaine while in the van which was travelling along the M56 and was spotted by a passing motorist.
Mr Edwards said: “Mr Rowlands is extremely embarrassed about what has happened to him. To have been stopped in that manner at a service station, and to have been brought in front of you, is mortifying to him.
“He knows and understands this has all happened to him because at the age of 40 he became addicted to cocaine. It began by ruining his business, then it spiralled out of control.
“He was in extreme debt and used money he had borrowed for a course to pay for the drugs that day.
“He is aggrieved that those charges against the other two in that vehicle were not bought before the court, but knows he has done wrong.”
Judge David Clarke told Rowlands: “It is clear that you are not a street level dealer. You had bought the drugs for your own use but also to make money, and to repay some of your debt for the cocaine you had already used.
“You bought and intended to sell to others a large quantity of drugs, so you must have a custodial sentence.”
