A judge has jailed an Almondbury man for six years after police caught him carrying a kilogramme of cocaine worth more than £83,000.

Leeds Crown Court heard Nathan Cartwright was “warehousing” the Class A drug for others and he also had live ammunition at his home.

Kirstie Watson, prosecuting, said officers were keeping watch on Cartwright on September 27 last year when he drove a hired Nissan car to Sheffield and then back to Huddersfield .

He parked near his address in Southfield Road and when he got out he had a large brown paper bag in his hand and was looking at a mobile phone.

He was arrested and in the bag was just over a kilogramme of cocaine, which was of average strength with a street value of £82,720.

The officers then searched his home and in his bedroom in a shoe box they found 372 grammes of cocaine which was 89% pure and if cut to the normal average of 44% would be worth over £29,000.

Southfield Road, Almondbury, Huddersfield
Southfield Road, Almondbury, Huddersfield

They also found a package containing 95.7 grammes of cocaine, 91% pure which, if cut to the average, was worth £7,780 and another shoe box containing 244 grammes of cocaine which was 94% pure and worth £20,000.

Miss Watson said in his mother’s bedroom in a cupboard blocked by a chest of drawers the police found a further shoe box holding 493 grammes of cocaine which was 83% pure and valued at £39,440.

Also found in another box in Cartwright’s bedroom were two live ammunition cartridges.

Robin Frieze, representing Cartwright, said his client had never been in trouble before and was working as a car valeter and complaining about not being able to afford a car when he was approached and asked to hold some drugs.

He was directed where to do pickups and what to pass on and in exchange was allowed to use the hire car for his social life, not appreciating he was stupidly taking the risk for others and would now be paying a high price for it. The bullets had come in one of the boxes and were not his.

Cartwright, 26, admitted conspiracy to supply drugs and possessing ammunition without a licence.

Judge James Spencer QC said he had read references which suggested there was another side to him but “having said that you are in serious trouble you had a significant quantity of drugs in your possession.”

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