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Drug-dealing pair from Walsall caught with £500k of cocaine after M6 police chase

Two drug dealers from the Black Country have been jailed after they sped down the M6 hard shoulder to avoid queuing – before overtaking a police officer who caught up with them and found a stash of cocaine worth half a million pounds.

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Simon Pagett, left, and Dean Stone

Dash-cam footage from the officers' patrol car shows Simon Pagett, from Walsall, undertaking on the M6, near Junction 7, in Great Barr, on November 5 last year – and the officer exclaiming "really?" in disbelief.

Pagett, alongside friend Dean Stone, also from Walsall, intimated to pull over on seeing the blue lights, but then accelerated away at speeds topping 100mph.

The 39-year-old weaved between cars on the A34 heading towards Walsall, at one point hitting the central reservation and jumped several sets of red lights.

He even did a lap of Toby Carvery car-park in a desperate bid to give the force's advanced driver the slip – before going off road near Springvale Avenue, where Stone jumped from the car and ran off clutching a rucksack.

The 40-year-old didn’t get far as he was arrested trying to get into a taxi nearby, while the rucksack was recovered in bushes. It was found to contain five 1kg slabs of high-purity cocaine with a value of around half a million pounds.

Slabs of high purity cocaine were found in the discarded rucksack

After around five minutes Pagett realised he was not going to get away and pulls over into Broadway North where he was detained in the street.

Both men went on to admit possessing drug with intent to supply – with Pagett also pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

And at Birmingham Crown Court on May 27, Pagett, of Dartford Road in Walsall, was jailed for seven years and Stone, of Burgh Way, Walsall, for six years.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Mandy Dorrington, from West Midlands Police, said: “Pagett and Stone clearly thought they were above the law and far too important to waste time in a traffic queue – but unfortunately for them they undertook one of our patrol cars.

“Pagett tried to try and shrug off the advanced police driver but after a few minutes realised it was a fruitless task and gave up.

“He was driving a BMW i8 worth more than £100,000. In interview he claimed the car and his lifestyle was funded through his dog breeding, cutting trees and vehicle recovery businesses which he suggested netted him £300,000.

“We’ll be putting that claim to the test and examining his finances – and any cash or assets he can’t demonstrate he’s accrued legally we will look to seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act.”

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