Wolverhampton housing officer stumbles into £14k drugs stash

When the official got no answer to his knock at the door he let himself in with a pass key to check all was well, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

He did not find Marcus Jones but did discover two mobile phones, a bag of cannabis valued at £270 and another substance in several plastic bags that turned out to be enough heroin to supply £13,700 worth of street deals, revealed Miss Aimee Parkes, prosecuting.

Police found £295 cash when they searched the address and later discovered a series of text messages relating to drug deals on the mobile phones that were forensically checked following the discovery in December 2015, continued the prosecutor.

Jones, from Hawthorne Road, Stow Heath, admitted selling cannabis to a small circle of friends who already used the drug and spent the cash feeding his drug habit.

The prosecution also accepted that the 23-year-old had been looking after the heroin for his dealer who paid him in cannabis, the court heard. The defendant explained to police: "I was told to return the package in the same state in which it was given to me."

Mr Michael Anning, defending, said: "He was living in a hostel at the time and his only income was from benefits. The only way he could feed his cannabis habit was to sell the drug to friends who were already using it.

"He was then taken advantage of by his dealer who got him to act as a custodian of the heroin. He is now reconciled with his mother and has put his life back together."

Jones admitted possession of heroin and cannabis with intent to supply and was jailed for two and a half years by Recorder Julian Taylor who told him: "I realise you had problems with your life at the time the offence was committed but these drugs are dangerous.

"They kill and if you have anything to do with them, even only as a custodian, custody is the only sentence available to me."