A BIRCHWOOD man has been jailed after being found with over £40,000 worth of drugs in his flat.

Jordan Mills, 23, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, January 16 to be sentenced for two counts of possession with intent to supply a class B drug (cannabis and ketamine), and one count of possession with intent to supply a class A drug (cocaine).

The 23-year-old had no previous convictions or legal trouble, yet in his first offence was found with a haul of drugs in his home with a street value of up to £40,360.

Max Saffman, prosecuting, told the court how a warrant had been carried out on Mills’ address for urgent gas works to take place. After a gas engineer was let in, he discovered £440 in cash and a bin bag of drugs at the property.

After reporting this to the police, officers attended, and later arrested the 23-year-old.

Police found 163.1 grams of cocaine, 407.7 grams of ketamine, and 2.2 kilograms of cannabis at the property .

Mr Saffman went on to state that Mills had admitted that he had allowed others to store the drugs at his address and would occasionally help deliver or bag up drugs.

In return the 23-year-old, who resided at Layton Close in Birchwood, received £400-500 a week.

This deal was offered due to his significant debts, and addiction to cocaine and cannabis, with the £400-500 a week often reduced in exchange for drugs.

Defending Mills, Ben Stanley told the court that the Birchwood man was struggling to keep work at the time of the offence, and had built up debts of around £10,000.

Mr Stanley stated that these debts were because of gambling and socialising, as well as feeding his drugs habit.

The court heard that the defendant had been a long-time drugs addict, having began taking them when he was just 14-years-old.

Recorder Steven Everett, presiding, said: “You got involved in a drugs supply, regretfully you took that opportunity to not only warehouse the drugs, but to sell it.

“That is a lot of money to be involved in the supply of drugs. They are not a charity, drug sellers, you helped them make money.

“At the moment you are a life that is wasted.

Recorder Everett went on to say Mills’ ‘effect on the community is a fairly negative one’, saying: “you were selling directly to users, you were carrying out a major part of this part of the operation”.  

In discussing the defendant’s cocaine usage he said that ‘it will shorten his life’ and that there is ‘medical evidence that using cannabis can cause mental health issues’.

Regarding Mills’ aiding in the supply of Ketamine, Recorder Everett said: “It is meant to anesthetise horses, so god knows what it does to people – it is an awful drug.”

In summarising the Birchwood man’s case, however, he stated he would be taking into account the elements of immaturity and naivety of the defendant.

Mills received a 5 year immediate custodial sentence, reduced to 4 years and 7 seven months due to  an early guilty plea.