A father was caught with around £85,000 of heroin and crack cocaine by police after he fell of his bike. Craig Byatt attempted to evade officers along a canal towpath.
But he was caught by police after slipping and had the drugs in his possession in a sports bag. The chase came months after he tried to evade cops in a high-speed car pursuit which resulted in a crash, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that police spotted Byatt's car driving without an MOT in August last year in the Anfield area of Liverpool. Officers pursued the 39-year-old who "made off at speed" after being stopped and was driving "erratically and aggressively".
Police lost sight of Byatt's vehicle but he caused "significant damage" and injured two women in a crash in Everton later. Officers located him and he tested positive for having cannabis in his system. He was released under investigation.
He was then one of two males on "high-powered, expensive" electric bikes who made off from police on March 22, 2023.
Byatt attempted to flee police again via the Leeds-Liverpool Canal but fell off the bicycle. He was found with a quarter of a kilogram of cocaine of 77 per cent purity, worth up to £24,000 at street level, plus a kilo of heroin of 53 per cent purity and valued at up to £60,000, the court heard.
He stated to police that he was "just the courier" when held in custody. Byatt had 26 previous convictions, including receiving 10 months for possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply in 2001 and being disqualified for drug driving in January.
Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting said: "The crown say he is highly trusted to be trusted to move drugs of that value. There must have been an inference of some expectation of significant financial reward."
Tom Watson, defending, told the court that Byatt had was in drug debt and also inherited debts owed to criminals by his late uncle. He added: "People can get hurt with that type of driving and I do not trivialise it at all.
"Blind panic caused him to drive as he did. It is not the first time he has driven dangerously, and the court will be seriously unimpressed.
"The most serious matter, of course, is this large amount of class A drugs. He is given a bike and he is told to take it. Sadly, these people have their hooks in his uncle and in this defendant. He understand what he has got involved in.
"They know where he lives, they know where his family lives, they know where his three children are. He is taking all of the risk. He has never been truly able to throw off his addiction to drugs. What really impacted, one after the other, were family tragedies.
"He thought he had, to an extent, put this type of life behind him. The impact of those deaths rather catapulted him back into heroin and, in particular, crack cocaine. He feels desperately sorry for what he has brought about for his family. The best he can do at this moment in time is treat this time positively.
"He is a man who can stay out of trouble, and he says he is going to be staying out of trouble. He can't ever do this to his family again - they don't deserve this."
Byatt admitted to the charges of possession with intent to supply, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, drug driving and driving without insurance. He was jailed for five years after appearing via video link. He was also disqualified from driving for another four-and-a-half years.
Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said: "I am to sentence you for your second set of class A drug dealing offences, your third offence for dangerous driving and your second drug driving conviction. You had to have been trusted, given the amount you were involved in transporting from one place to another."
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