Half-a-kilo of cocaine found at Leeds home during unrelated search
Officers noticed suspicious items when looking for wanted man
Police stumbled across a large quantity of cocaine at a house when looking for a fugitive.
Officers found more than half a kilogramme of cocaine worth up to £14,000 at the home in Swarcliffe.
Connor Boylan was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week.
The court heard officers had gone to the property on Stanks Drive on May 26 looking to trace a wanted man.
They were let in by Boylan and searched the property, but did not find the man in question.
However, they noticed a set of digital scales covered in a white powder residue. They also spotted a jar of cannabis and found a large quantity of dealer bags in a cupboard.
Boylan was arrested and a full search of the house ensued. They found a machete, baseball bat and 529 grammes of cocaine.
Experts said it was worth between £10,840 and £13,840.
Boylan, 31, admitted dealing in cocaine and cannabis. He has a previous conviction for possession of drugs.
Mitigating Sarah Myatt said Boylan, of Stanks Lane, was “aware this would attract a custodial sentence”.
He said he was now living with his father who took a “zero tolerance” approach to such matters as drugs.
She added: “He is taking these proceedings very seriously, he knows the implications.”
But in response to her request that he could be rehabilitated in the community, Judge Simon Batiste told Boylan: “Only an immediate custodial sentence can be possibly justified in this case.”
He handed him a four-year jail term.