Staffordshire Road crime team bust man with £96,000 worth of cocaine in M6 traffic stop
A man has been jailed after being found with a large quantity of cocaine in his car during a routine traffic stop on the M6 in Staffordshire.
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Mark Welstead appeared at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday and was jailed for three-years-and-nine-months after he previously admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine.
Officers from the Staffordshire Police Road Crime Team stopped the 44-year-old, of Harwich in Essex, when he was spotted driving southbound between junction 12 and junction 13 in a car on September 28 last year.
During a search, officers found three brick sized packages of cocaine in the footwell, with each of them estimated to be worth between £26,000 and £32,000, valued together up to £96,000.
Detective Constable Reece Hingley, from the Staffordshire Police 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.
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 and 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.”
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: "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."
