Smell of cannabis catches out Wolverhampton drug dealer

A drug dealer was caught when Royal Mail staff in Wolverhampton smelled cannabis in an £8,000 parcel of cocaine he sent by recorded delivery.

Gervin Chambers used his own address as the sender's details for the package, which was on its way to Aberdeen. It was intercepted at the Royal Mail's Sun Street sorting office after staff noticed a strange odour.

A police investigation revealed the parcel was dropped off for delivery at the Post Office in Bargate Drive, Whitmore Reans, by an unidentified man in June.

The sender's details on the back gave Chambers' own address in Glentworth Gardens, Whitmore Reans.

Chambers, aged 34, even made a number of phone calls to the Royal Mail to complain that the parcel had not been delivered to the hairdressers in Aberdeen where Chambers had a contact.

He was arrested on July 6 and denied any connection to the parcel, which contained £8,0000 of crack cocaine and £150 of herbal cannabis.

But a handwriting sample provided strong evidence that he was the sender of the package, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

A jury yesterday took just half an hour to convict Chambers of two charges of attempting to supply drugs.

Judge Martin Walsh granted him bail while probation officials draw up a report on his background ahead of sentencing on June 14.

Judge Walsh told Chambers: "I want to make it absolutely clear to you that you've been convicted of a serious offence and a significant custodial sentence is virtually inevitable in this case."

A Proceeds of Crime Application is now under way to claw back any ill-gotten profits that Chambers made.

Wolverhampton's drugs links to Aberdeen are well known.

Dealers can make vast profits by selling heroin and cocaine on the streets of the city where they have a higher price than in the West Midlands.

The trade was linked to the murder of Wolverhampton footballer Kevin Nunes, who was gunned down in a country lane in Pattingham in 2002 for trying to muscle in on it. Five men were jailed in January 2008 over the murder.