A dad caught with heroin and cocaine valued at up to £400,000 said he was "blackmailed" by gangsters when he tried to stop dealing.
John Powell claimed he started helping his bosses supply the drugs in Merseyside and to Devon to pay off a near £40,000 cocaine debt.
But prosecutors said the 49-year-old was also benefiting financially from the arrangement - as shown by his daughter texting him asking for £3,000 to pay for a holiday to Marbella and designer gear.
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Liverpool Crown Court heard police raided Powell's home in Station Road, Roby on October 13 last year.
In a rear storage room they found a black sports bag containing three bags of cocaine, weighing 600g, and eight blocks of "double wrapped" heroin packages, weighing just over 4.4 kilos. In a shoebox hidden amongst shoes were three further snap bags of heroin, weighing almost a kilo.
Two sets of digital scales, a roll of plastic bags and amongst a box of coffee filters a 31.2g package of heroin was recovered.
In the fridge was 9.2g of amphetamine, over which he was not charged, and in a kitchen cupboard was a sandwich bag containing 187.4g of 74% pure cocaine.
The court heard in and on a coffee table in the living room was a knotted package of 12.5g of cocaine, a foil package of 1.72g of cocaine, and £1,080 in cash, along with a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone, which was "ringing with calls".
Elsewhere, officers found 150g of caffeine and paracetamol, regularly used as an adulterant for heroin to bulk out deals.
Peter Hussey, prosecuting, said the total estimated street value of the 5,457.2g heroin was between £218,000 and £327,000, and for the 802.2g of cocaine was between £32,000 and £80,500.
He said texts on the Samsung from March 2021 to October 2021 revealed Powell appeared to be "accounting to two unknown persons for monies in four and five figure sums" and "there was a series of messages indicating the defendant arranging delivery of money to a Torquay address".
Mr Hussey said other messages dating from the beginning of 2021 were "basically just postcodes indicating addresses and requesting deliveries" across Merseyside and to Devon. He said Powell would receive an order and a postcode and then pass it onto a delivery driver.
The prosecutor said in one text last August, someone apologised to Powell for owing money to him or those above him and "offered to work off the debt by grafting".
Mr Hussey said: "The messages demonstrated the defendant was not just a custodian of the drugs that were found on his arrest."
When interviewed, Powell gave a prepared statement saying he had a near £40,000 cocaine debt and pressure was put on him to supply the drugs to Torquay.
He later admitted possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply on a basis of plea, which was accepted by prosecutors and read out in court.
It said Powell's brother died in 2020 and he received a £3,000 inheritance, but he "quickly accrued debt as a result of taking excessive quantities of cocaine".
The basis said "to fund his habit he voluntarily involved himself in drug dealing", but by June 21 he "had a change of heart and tried to stop dealing".
The statement continued "when Mr Powell told those with whom he had involved himself his intentions, he was blackmailed" and he then dealt under direction.
Mr Hussey said the accepted basis of plea concluded by saying: "Mr Powell's role was safe housing and storing both cash and drugs."
He said the prosecution suggested the case had elements of a "significant role" and Powell had an expectation of financial or other advantage, which wasn't just paying off his debt.
Mr Hussey said: "There was a text message from his daughter in which she was asking for three grand to go to Marbella and to buy designer clothes and bags, which she must have thought he would have access to."
Powell has 21 previous convictions for 36 offences, including supplying cannabis in 1998, when he received a conditional discharge, and production of cannabis in 2011, when he was given a community order.
Nicholas Williams, defending, said his client recalled the 1998 conviction was for "passing a joint of cannabis to his friend" and the 2011 conviction was for growing "a couple" of plants "for his own use".
He said Powell had never been to prison before, but had been held on remand since October.
Mr Williams said: "In many ways Mr Powell considers his arrest to be the best thing that could have happened to him. He was clearly out of his depth. He considered there was no way out and his mental health was rapidly deteriorating."
He said when arrested Powell was suffering from "real mental turmoil" but this had since improved after counselling and thanks to him remaining drug free.
The lawyer said a psychiatrist identified symptoms suggestive of PTSD, linked to childhood trauma, plus a "depressive disorder" and "adjustment disorder".
He said Powell's brother had been "the only person he could turn to" and his sibling's death "resulted in him starting to use alcohol and cocaine to excessive amounts, to try and cope with the grief".
Mr Williams said while the basis of plea said Powell "voluntarily" started dealing to pay off his debt, there was an element of "pressure" too.
He said when his client told those above him he had to stop in June 21, "it wasn't as easy as that and they weren't prepared to accept it and he was subsequently blackmailed".
Judge David Potter found Powell had played a "significant role" in dealing both drugs, but said he would deduct 25% off the sentence for his guilty pleas - entered at a plea and trial preparation hearing.
The judge said he would also make an additional reduction to take into account the "pressure" he had been put under.
He jailed Powell for six and a half years.
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