Doncaster man jailed after being found with thousands of pounds of crack cocaine stashed down his trousers

Police patrolling in a marked vehicle in Mexborough on May 4 last year became ‘suspicious’ of defendant, Aiden Cook, after they noticed him speed away on his bike as soon as he spotted them driving towards him, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Officers began pursuing Cook, 28, as he continued to race off, and managed to detain him after he fell off his bike.

“He was searched and said he had some ‘white,’ and this was found down the front of his trousers,” said Fatima Zafar, prosecuting.

She added: “He had a plastic bag tied in a knot, which was found down the front of his trousers. Upon testing it was found to contain numerous foil wraps.”

There were 280 wraps containing a total of 24.9 grams of crack cocaine found to be of 80 per cent purity, with a street value of £2,800.

Cook was taken into custody, and police officers were dispatched to search his home and his mother’s home.

Ms Zafar said an unspecified amount of cocaine as well as four wraps of crack cocaine worth £40 were recovered from his mother’s property.

In police interview, Cook, of York Street, Mexborough said he had picked up a package for an unknown man, and had been asked to take it to a third party.

He claimed to have ‘no idea’ what the package contained.

This account was not accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service, and after Cook entered guilty pleas to possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A, a Newton hearing was arranged in order to resolve the matter.

Cook subsequently admitted he had a role in the supply chain, and said he would package up the drugs that were then handed over to another individual to be sold as street deals.

Ms Zafar said Cook was convicted of crimes relating to drug dealing in 2011 and 2015, and received a prison sentence for the latter offence.

Mark Brookes, defending, said Cook has suffered from depression and anxiety for a number of years, and also found himself in financial difficulties following his release from prison in December 2016.

“He’s dependent on universal credit, and found it particularly to raise the money for the sole occupancy of his premises,” said Mr Brookes.

He added: “Clearly Your Honour has to pass a custodial sentence, but can I ask you to reflect credit [for his guilty plea] and his age, so he might have the opportunity to pick up the threads of his life and his relationship with his two-year-old son.”

Recorder Angela Frost sentenced Cook to four years in prison, and ordered for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs seized from him.