Rhuddlan,North Wales - Man caught speeding was ferrying £8,500 worth of cannabis into North Wales

Published date: 19 April 2016 | 

Published by: Staff reporter
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A MAN was caught ferrying £8,500 worth of cannabis into North Wales - because he was speeding.

Police stopped the hired Mercedes at Rhuddlan because he appeared to be driving too quickly.

But when officers spoke to the driver, they detected a strong smell of cannabis, Mold Crown Court was told.

It turned out that Carl Campion was a courier, who was ferrying cannabis from Birmingham to Rhyl.

A bucket of cannabis was found hidden in the boot.

Campion – at the time on licence after being released from a 12 year sentence for an armed robbery at a bank in Cardiff – was due to go on trial on a charge of possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

But shortly before the trial was due to start he changed his plea to guilty and was jailed for ten months.

Campion, aged 51, of Michleton Avenue in Sheldon, Birmingham, was told by Judge Merfyn Hughes QC that  it was an aggravating feature that he was on licence at the time.

“It strikes me as rather off that he has not been recalled to prison,” he said.

The judge told the defendant: “You were a courier rather than someone who intended to sell them on the street.

“Nevertheless, it is clear that you stood to gain. You were motivated by financial advantage.”

Judge Hughes said that it was obvious that Campion had some awareness and understanding of the scale of the operation because of the amount of cannabis that he was carrying.

He appreciated that the defendant had since last summer secured employment in motorway maintenance, that he had a partner and accommodation, which were all signs that he was settling down.

A progress report showed that he had responded well to supervision.

But the ten month sentence would have to be served immediately.

“It is not appropriate when you have committed such a serious crime on licence for me to suspend that sentence,” the judge told him.

Prosecuting barrister James Coutts told how the car was stopped shortly after 8 a.m. on August 1 last year on the A525 Rhuddlan by-pass.

It was travelling towards Rhyl at an excessive speed.

There was a strong smell of cannabis in the vehicle and a film recording of the cannabis being found in the boot of the vehicle was played to the court.

In the boot were two hold-all bags which were inside a bucket wrapped in two black bin liners.

The defendant’s finger prints had been found on the black bin liners.

Campion gave a no comment interview.

The prosecutor said that in his basis of plea the defendant had said it was the first time he had done it.

But it was the prosecution case that he had clearly been trusted with a large amount of cannabis, a total of 850 grammes with an estimated street value of £8,500.

Simon Mintz, defending, said that his client had done so well while on licence that he suspected the offender manager had not wanted to recall him.

He had settled down and was working hard, undertaking night shifts with a motorway maintenance company which had given him a reference which showed he was highly thought of.

Mr Mintz said: “He has a bad past but he is now out at night earning honest money.”

If he was sent back to custody all that progress would have been wasted, he said.

The court heard that in 2009, Campion received a 12 year prison sentence at Cardiff Crown Court for robbery at a local bank where £104,000 in cash had been stolen assecurity staff were filling an ATM machine after delivering the money.

see-http://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/161094/man-caught-speeding-was-ferrying-8-500-worth-of-cannabis-into-north-wales.aspx