Man from Southport caught with a £1.5million cocaine cargo on M6 at Todhills

A DRUG runner caught with a £1.5million cocaine cargo in a van which had a defective headlight and bald tyre has been jailed for five and a half years.

Eagle-eyed police officers spotted the Peugeot vehicle being driven along the M6 by 39-year-old Paul May on February 6.

It was pulled over at the Todhills testing centre north of Carlisle where the headlight defect and bald tyre were confirmed during a detailed examination.

Carlisle Crown Court heard today (wed) that this gave rise to a search of the vehicle by police who found it had been adapted. It was fitted with a false floor and beneath this were 15 bags each containing 1kg of cocaine.

Had the drugs stash been adulterated to increase its quantity for onward sale to street users in 1g deals, it could potentially have been worth around £1.5 million in total.

May, of Mill Lane, Southport, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

This was on the basis that he was told where to collect the van, where to take it and, once he had arrived at a given destination, where to deliver the cargo.

May — father to a teenage daughter — was due to have been paid £4,000 for making the trip. This amount, the court heard, would have been offset in relation to drug and gambling debts he had accrued.

May was said to be a man with difficulties but someone who was otherwise highly respected and regarded.

Passing sentence, Recorder Shaw told him: "You must have known that it was cocaine although I accept by the basis of plea you weren’t fully aware of the amount you were transporting.

"Being paid £4,000 to drive drugs up and down the M6 motorway, it would not take a leap of imagination on your part, Mr May, that there was a significant amount of drugs on board."