Railway worker jailed over £24,000 cocaine find
A former railway worker has been jailed for five years for dealing drugs after police caught him with nearly half a kilogram of cocaine worth nearly £24,000.
Andrew Chapman was arrested with some of the haul in a Renault Clio car he was driving.
Police later found more drugs, money and a number of mobile phones at an address he shared with his girlfriend.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard on Wednesday how officers were first alerted when they spotted Chapman, aged 27, driving a Range Rover car linked to the drugs trade on August 7.
It was followed to a house in Abbey Square, Walsall, which Chapman entered before coming out and getting into a Renault Clio.
Mr Robert Egan, prosecuting, said: "The officers decided to pull the Clio over and a search revealed it contained 25 small deals of cocaine and six larger bags full containing a total of 181.4 grams of cocaine in total.
"There was also three mobile phones and £350 in cash.
"Officers then searched the Abbey Square address where they discovered a further 675 small deals of cocaine weighing a total of 245 grams.
"There was also £810 in cash and two more mobile phones in the house.
"The total weight of the cocaine, which on average was of 25-30% purity, win both seizures was 426.4 grams worth some £23,680."
Chapman admitted being a drug dealer and tested positive for opiates when taken to the police station.
Mr Robert Cowley, defending, said an officer there made a remark when one of Chapman's mobile phones kept ringing constantly.
"He told my client that it must get annoying to which he replied 'I'll be glad to see the back of them.'
Mr Cowley told the court Chapman had a 'long standing addiction' to heroin but had managed to temporarily beat it while serving a prison sentence.
"However he began using again and finds himself in this position. Since his recent arrest he's been on a detox programme and reconciled with his family.
"He tells me he just wants to keep his head down, do his time and rebuild his life."
Chapman, who worked as a rail track maintenance worker for eight years, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply at an earlier court hearing.
Jailing him for five years Recorder Stephen Thomas said he was crediting Chapman, of King Street, Walsall,
for an early admission and lack of previous drug convictions.
