A drug dealer hid nearly £30,000 of heroin and cannabis in his own children's rucksacks in a desperate attempt to avoid being caught red-handed by police.
Simon Rogers, from Formby, stashed the illicit substances in the kids' bags after he was pulled over while driving a stolen Audi with his two young sons in the back. The opportunist dad almost got away with his audacious attempt, but officers ultimately discovered the drugs alongside tens of thousands of pounds in ill-gotten cash.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday, that the owner of the grey Audi Q2 awoke at 6am on June 10 this year to find that her SUV had been taken from outside her house in Gateshead overnight. Then, at around 4pm on July 15, Merseyside Police spotted the stolen vehicle being driven on cloned number plates in the Kirkby, Aintree and Maghull areas.
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Driver Rogers was subsequently boxed in by officers on the M57 northbound and detained. The 40-year-old was allowed to explain the situation to his children before they were transported to the homes of other family members.
He was also given the chance to gather their belongings in the car in holdalls before being taken into custody. Police subsequently attempted to carry out a search of his Alt Road home, but the house key was not on a set that had been seized.
Officers then returned to search the bags that the boys had been left with, hoping to find the key. Instead, they found a block of heroin and two of cannabis resin plus a "huge amount of cash" totalling £15,000 with his nine-year-old son - who had been dropped at his grandma's in Kirkby.
The other youngster had been taken to his mum's house in Speke. There, a search of his belongings revealed paperwork in his dad's name and another block of cannabis resin stashed underneath a bundle of clothing.
The authorities did not find the outstanding key, but were ultimately let into the address at roughly 8pm by Rogers' partner. More monies were discovered in the kitchen, with £1,000 in a handbag and £21,800 in a cupboard.
A search of the car then revealed a further block of cannabis resin. The 369g of heroin was found to be of 49% purity with a street value of up to £22,000, while the cannabis was worth an estimated £5,200.
Meanwhile, the cash located by police amounted to £38,382. When interviewed after his arrest, Rogers said that he did not know the Audi was stolen and said he had bought it for £5,000 through a friend - who arranged the sale in the Carlisle area.
He also incorrectly believed that his previous insurance policy remained valid on the vehicle. Meanwhile, the father-of-three claimed that he had lent the car to a friend while he was away in Turkey.
Rogers stated that he discovered the drugs inside upon his return the previous day. While the unnamed acquaintance had "promised to sort it out", he needed to collect his children and "panicked" when stopped and "took the opportunity" to hide the heroin and cannabis.
Of the cash, he said that this had been the proceeds of a sale through his caravan business Camper Kings. Peter Hussey, prosecuting, said: "It is the crown's case that this defendant trades in a significant quantity of class A and B drugs for profit."
Rogers - who appeared in court via video link to HMP Altcourse - has four previous convictions for eight offences. In 2010, he was jailed for five years for possession of cocaine with intent to supply and possession of ammunition before receiving six years in 2015 over a scheme to import party drug MCAT into the UK from China.
Gary Lawrenson, defending, told the court that his client had secured a job tending to birds of prey while in jail as well as working for the prison radio station - including recently conducting an interview with visiting magistrates. He added: "In the run up to the commission of this offence, my client had been struggling with his mental health.
"He reverted to type and lost sight of the most important things in his life. It really shows the state of panic he was going through.
"He stuffed as much as he could in those bags. He was always going to get caught, as he was driving around in a stolen motor vehicle.
"He is devastated, as he is going to be parted from his young family for a significant period of time. His own words are, he feels shame and embarrassment - he is deeply sorry to the court and his family.
"This is a man who is now 40 years of age, a turning point in his life. His intention is to use this time fruitfully and turn his back on crime and his front to his family."
Rogers admitted possession of heroin and cannabis with intent to supply, handling stolen goods, possession of criminal property and driving without insurance. He was locked up for four-and-a-half years.
Sentencing, Recorder Kendrick Horne said: "You were generating a large amount of cash. You were supplying to users on an unusually high scale.
"You involved your nine-year-old son in an attempt to hide the drugs and cash from the police - exposing your son to the risk of seeing, possibly touching or possibly discovering in some other ways the drugs as well as the cash. I accept you have expressed remorse."
Rogers was told to pay a victim surcharge, while his driving licence was endorsed with six penalty points. Forfeiture of the car and destruction of the drugs was also ordered.
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