Drugs worth £80,000 found in courier's car

A drugs courier caught with more than £80,000 worth of drugs in his car has been locked up for six years.
Bush HykajBush Hykaj
Bush Hykaj

Bush Hykaj (29) was arrested after police who were called out to an unconnected domestic incident at an address in Spalding, found him sitting outside the property in a BMW.

Hykaj, of St James Avenue, Peterborough said the car was not his and that he had thrown the keys away in a fit of temper.

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However, Lincoln Crown Court heard officers still looked in the car and found a bundle of cash.

They also found a sports bag containing 844g of cocaine and 364 g of cannabis.

Mark Watson, prosecuting said if the cocaine was sold in street deals it was worth up to £84,500. The cannabis was worth just over £3,000 if sold at street dealer level.

Hykaj was interviewed but denied he was involved in any offending.

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But in court Hykaj pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of drugs with intent to supply as a result of the police search of his vehicle on 5 September this year.

Mr Watson added “He was a paid courier. That was his employment.

“He accepts that this was not the first of these jobs.”

Judge John Pini QC,sentencing, said: “You were motivated by financial reward. You were clearly highly trusted. You did it more than once. Where people are convicted of putting large amounts of Class A drugs on the streets of this county this court will send a message that this will not be tolerated.”

Lisa Hardy, defending said that Hykaj had been a recreational user of cocaine, but over the last seven months had increased his use of the drug.

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She said: “He accepts his motivation was financial. Effectively he was funding his own habit.

“He started taking cocaine a couple of years ago when he was feeling low. It escalated over the last seven months.”

Miss Hardy said that at the time of his arrest Hykaj, an Albanian who arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry aged 12, was in a long-term relationship and until the increase in his drug usage was planning to move with his partner to start a new life in Spain.