Drug addict convinces Leeds court that 21 bags of cocaine were for personal use
An addict caught with hundreds of pounds worth of drugs was able to convince a court that it was for his own use.
Darran Myers said he was snorting around £100 of cocaine a day as his habit spiralled out of control.
He was caught with Kinder Egg chocolate containers filled with bags of cocaine when the police stopped him.
Th 54-year-old was given a community order at Leeds Crown Court this week.
Prosecutor Emily Hassell said police stopped his Ford Fiesta on Hardy Street in Beeston on the evening of February 22, 2022.
He and his passenger were searched. Myers pulled out snap bags of white powder and the Kinder Eggs containing more snap bags.
In total, there were 21 bags of cocaine with a value of £370.
Myers, of Firth Mount, Cross Flatts, told officers he was a heavy drug user, spending up to £100 a day. He said the other male was his dealer and he had offered to give him a lift.
Myers was originally charged with dealing, but later admitted possession of Class A drugs, on the day he was due to stand trial, which was accepted.
Myers has 12 previous convictions for 17 offences.
He later told a probation officer that he had offered to give his dealer a lift that day in the hope he might be given some free cocaine.
He said he had since stopped using cocaine because he was “getting too old”.
Mitigating, Chloe Fairley said he had not offended in three years and added: “Given his drug history, that is significant.
“It seems he is making a real, genuine change.”
Judge Neil Clark gave him a 12-month community order, with 100 hours of unpaid work and five rehabilitation days with probation.