Courier caught by police taking pink suitcase filled with cannabis to Scotland
A drugs courier[1] who was transporting a pink suitcase full of weed to Scotland has been put behind bars. Roland Forsdick, 33, from Co-Operative Street in Nottinghamshire, was in the passenger seat of the Suzuki car being driven by his partner when it was stopped by West Yorkshire Police officers on the A1 at Boston Spa in August this year. Prosecutor Robert Galley told Leeds Crown Court[2] on Friday: “In the boot was a significant amount of cannabis in vacuum type bags in a purple or pink suitcase.”
The court[4] was told that the potential sale amount of the cannabis was up to GBP120,000 – with 9kg of it being seized from the car. Mr Galley said Forsdick’s phone was downloaded and officers discovered messages from someone named “Greg” who, on July 7 this year, referred to “taking out a loan for GBP1,000.” The prosecutor said: “On another occasion, he offered him GBP160 to do something.
On 30th July he instructed him to take some items to Scotland. The drug liaison officer concluded the 9kg [of cannabis] would likely to be due for street level sale. There were packages of small grip-sealed bags.
“It is not suggested this defendant was selling them but they were being sold to someone in Scotland. In interviews he was to say he did not know he was transporting cannabis.”
Leeds Crown Court
Forsdick went on to plead guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis. Mr Galley said the only relevant conviction he had on his record was one for possession of cocaine in 2017.
An officer from the Probation Service told the court she had spoken with Forsdick in the cells earlier on Friday and said he told her he had had an accident at work in February 2022, leaving him out of employment and then latterly, in debt. She said: “He began to struggle financially and emotionally and was offered an opportunity to pay off some debts by committing the offence. “He described it as a ‘moment of madness.’ He has been remanded into custody since his arrest.”
The court heard Forsdick has a partner and a two-year-old son, and he has already missed one of his son’s birthdays. The officer said: “When he is released, he is determined to obtain employment. He has shown good insight into the link between that offending and his mental wellbeing.
All he wants is to be able to work.” Mitigating, Jim Littlehales, said Forsdick has already served the equivalent of a six-month sentence while remanded into custody. Recorder Dallas jailed him for 18 months.
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References
- ^ drugs courier (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
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