A drugs warehouseman was caught after he overtook an unmarked police car – leaving a waft of cannabis in his wake.

When police searched James Hall’s home in December, they discovered drugs with an estimated street value of £6,000.

Despite the high resale value, the 24-year-old initially told detectives that the drugs were for his personal use – or that he would offer friends sniffs of cocaine when they came around to visit.

By the time Halls, of Milton-under-Wychwood, came before Oxford Crown Court on Friday last week, he was no longer claiming the drugs were for his own consumption.

Instead, in a basis of plea he accepted dealing cannabis and some cocaine but said the heroin and crack cocaine was being stored for other dealers.

He was paid £400 to store packages of drugs for a dealer higher up the chain and ‘always intended’ to give them back to the dealer but hadn’t seen him to do so.

Halls pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs.

Prosecutor Steven Molloy said two police officers were in an unmarked car driving on the A4260 on December 8 when Halls came up behind them.

He was said to be ‘driving erratically’, made a ‘dangerous overtake’ leaving behind a smell of cannabis, then drove off at speed.

The officers noted the registration number, which according to police intelligence was linked to the suspected supply of hard drugs in west Oxfordshire.

He was pulled over, with drugs found in the car. Further drugs, including a ‘golf ball’ sized package of cocaine, were found at his home.

His mobile phone was analysed by police experts. It had been used to send marketing messages to addicts, with texts featuring common terms like ‘active’ to mean the dealer was available to process customers’ orders.

Jailing him for 32 months, Recorder John Ryder KC said: “You entered a basis of plea which in summary asserts you were a heavy cannabis user who had accrued a debt to your supplier, that you supplied cannabis doubtless in part at least to fund your own habit and also small amounts of cocaine.

“You warehoused other drugs, class A drugs, at your premises for the people to whom you owed the debt.

“I am sceptical about that basis of plea, but even on its own terms you accept supplying drugs of class A and class B cocaine and cannabis and assisting in the supply of heroin by providing a safe house in which it could (a) be stored and (b) plainly packaged given there was other paraphernalia there.”

Mitigating, Christopher Pembridge said his client had been a heavy cannabis user. Still a young man, he was relatively lightly convicted and it was his first time before a crown court judge.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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