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A man has been jailed after our road crime team (RCT) found £96,000 worth of cocaine in his car during a routine traffic stop on the M6.
Mark Welstead, 44, of Harwich, Essex, appeared at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday (29 January) and was jailed for three-years-and-nine-months after he previously admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine.
Proactive officers stopped Welstead when he was spotted driving southbound between junction 12 and junction 13 in a car on 28 September last year.
When we searched inside, we found three brick sized packages of cocaine in the footwell. Each of them was estimated to be worth between £26,000 and £32,000, valued together up to £96,000.
Detective Constable Reece Hingley, from our criminal investigations department (CID), progressed further enquiries, including substance analysis, witness evidence and analytical work to secure all of the evidence needed for court.
As part of Welstead’s sentencing, the drugs were ordered for destruction.
Proactive traffic stops like this are happening across Staffordshire every single day as part of the road crime team’s ongoing efforts to target those committing offences on our road networks.
Since they launched, RCT have seized 92 stolen vehicles, carried out 3,972 traffic stops, conducted 1,938 roadside tests for drink and drugs and seized £2.2-million worth of criminal assets.
Chief Inspector Scott McGrath, from RCT, said: “This incident goes to show the benefit of being proactive in our pursuit of offenders on our roads and what can be found, even in the most routine of traffic stops.
“We’re dedicated to stopping those using our road networks to commit crime. Whether this is putting others at risk through dangerous driving, or using our roads as a way of committing crime and transporting illegal drugs from place to place – we want these people to know that we’re out there and will find you.
“I’m really pleased with our team’s efforts to keep people safe in Staffordshire and I can assure local communities that we’re pulling out all the stops to make sure criminals who use our road networks are targeted.”