A drug dealer told police the drug bags found in his house were “to hold chicken nuggets”.
Craig Walker’s bizarre attempts to get out trouble came as he was caught by police with 70 wraps of crack cocaine down his trousers just weeks after being released from jail. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court warned him he was at risk of wasting his life if he didn’t stop dealing Class A drugs to fund his own addiction.
Anthony O’Donohoe, prosecuting, said police spotted Walker, 30, during a suspected drug deal on the edge of the city centre on May 17, 2020. The car turned off Angela Street and into Pennygate Close and after seeing someone get in the car to buy drugs police stopped the vehicle.
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Mr O’Donohoe said: “When they did Walker was in the car. Police officers noticed he was fidgeting with the waist of his trousers. His hands then went inside his trousers and he emerged with empty hands, leading the officer to believe he had secreted something down them.”
They recovered a phone at the scene that appeared to show drug deals being organised but it was not until a further search at the police station that police found he had hidden 70 wraps of crack cocaine as well as some wraps of cocaine. Officers found further evidence of dealing in his home, such as weighing scales and bags, and asked Walker about this during and interview.
Mr O’Donohoe said: “He told them he was a drug user and that he had ‘put the drugs in his undies before going out’. He also said he was sofa surfing and that the snap bags were to hold chicken nuggets and the scales were to weigh food.”
Walker, who had only recently been released on licence halfway through a 32 month sentence for dealing cocaine when he was stopped, admitted possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced today. Jason Smith, defending, said Walker accepted responsibility for dealing but said this was driven largely by his own addiction.
He said: “For most of his adult life he has been a drug user and addict. It is almost an inevitable consequence for someone in his position that he will mix with people who sell drugs and sell drugs for them. It is a cycle he has been unable to get himself out of.”
Mr Smith said that in the days after his arrest Walker had been badly beaten by associates for losing the drugs in the search. He said: “You will see they handed out their own punishment for him losing the drugs.”
Judge David Swinnerton said he recognised Walker was “not making thousands of pounds out of this” but added that he was “nonetheless playing a significant role and making some money”. He jailed Walker, of Richard Kelly Drive, for four years and warned him his stints in prison would only continue unless he changed his ways.
Judge Swinnerton said: “The only way you are going to break this cycle is by steering well clear of those who are taking drugs, those who deal drugs. Otherwise you will go in and out, the sentences will get longer and you will waste your life.”
Walker nodded and replied: “I’ll lose my family as well.” His supporters cried and waved as he was led to the cells from the dock.
