£65k haul of drugs found stashed in Batley drain

Adam Barnes, 27, was connected to the haul of heroin and crack cocaine by his fingerprints.

A bag containing the drugs was discovered by a Yorkshire Water employee who was making a check on drains in Batley.

It also contained latex gloves and a pair of digital scales.

Prosecuting at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday, Stephanie Hancock, said the bag was found in a drain outside Barnes’ house in Caledonian Road on July 19 last year.

A forensic examination revealed the bag contained 889 grammes of heroin, with a street value of £44,450, and 281 grammes of crack cocaine, with a street value of £21,075.

When police searched Barnes’ home they also found £500 in cash.

The court heard Barnes, who is currently in custody for driving offences, has previously spent time in prison for drug offences.

He pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and possession of criminal property at an earlier hearing.

Mitigating, John Wilkinson said Barnes was only a temporary custodian of the drugs, which he agreed to in return for some small quantities for himself.

Mr Wilkison said: “His mother was an addict who died when he was 17, and effectively from the age of 14 he had grown up in an environment in what was an open house for drug dealers.

“His mother’s boyfriends, who were drug takers, were his only role models.”

Mr Wilkinson added despite a good job at a building firm, Barnes continued to ‘binge on alcohol and cocaine’.

“He knew he should not have got involved with the drugs but it gave him easy access to the cocaine he needed,” he said.

Jailing Barnes to four years and eight months behind bars, Recorder Peter Babb said: “You will know from your own difficulties what those involved with Class A drugs experience, and this was a substantial quantity of drugs which means a custodial sentence is inevitable.”