Taxi driver jailed for third time over drugs (From Warrington Guardian)

Taxi driver jailed for third time over drugs

2:30pm Friday 31st July 2009 in News Exclusive By Neil Docking

A TAXI driver who hid more than a kilo of cocaine in his minibus has been sentenced to almost six years in prison.

Police raided Darren Catterall’s home on Tavlin Avenue, Dallam, on May 13 this year – discovering drugs with a street value of up to £25,000 hidden in the back of the vehicle the 37-year-old used for his private hire business.

Warrington Crown Court heard on Friday how officers unearthed a black holdall containing seven bags of white powder – some with a concentration of just six per cent cocaine – divided into several smaller bags, along with syringes and electronic scales.

David Jones, prosecuting, said £20,000 cash was also uncovered in Catterall’s house.

When interviewed by police Catterall claimed he was holding the drugs for a friend, who he refused to name.

He said his friend had asked him to look after the stash for a week while he was away and that he had not realised there was so much cocaine in the bag when he agreed to look after it.

However, the father admitted he was a cocaine user and that he had sampled some of the drugs himself.

The court heard that it was accepted by the prosecution that the money was from Catterall’s taxi business and not profits from drug dealing.

Catterall, who admitted a charge of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply, has previous convictions dating back nearly 20 years.

These include drug dealing in 1992, for which he served a two-year jail sentence and drug dealing in 1994, which resulted in a four-year jail term.

John Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said his client, a large, stocky man wearing a shirt and tie in court, deserved credit for his early guilty plea and for co-operating with the police.

He said: “He knows that he will not be with his partner and his children for quite some time.”

Judge Thomas Teague said: “In many ways you have a lot going for you. Clearly friends, neighbours and relatives who support you and hold you in high regard.

“But a large quantity of cocaine was found at your home. It was just more than a kilo, which is a lot.”

Judge Teague said he had no option under Government guidelines but to impose a sentence of at least seven years because it was Catterall’s third conviction for drug trafficking.

Reducing that figure for his guilty plea he ordered Catterall to spend five years and eight months behind bars minus the 71 days he had already spent in custody.