Police found cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis worth over £80,000 at east Leeds house which was being used as 'drug den'

Police made the discovery at the property on Cautley Road, Cross Green, while making enquiries over the theft of a motorbike in Leeds city centre.

Officers also found a stun gun and commercial catering equipment used to prepare drugs during the investigation which disrupted the activity of criminals supplying drugs on the city's streets.

Around £29,000 worth of cocaine was found in a safe hidden beneath floorboards at the property where Adam Hunter, 27, lived with his girlfriend Lucy Tucker, 23.

The couple's friend, 19-year-old Connor Bass, was also living with them at the house at the time..

Leeds Crown Court heard police executed a search warrant on May 15 this year.

Neighbours described how people were regularly in the back yard and it was common for motorbikes to turn up at the house for a short period before being ridden away.

Hunter often came out of the house and could be seen regularly engaging with people in cars parked outside.

While police were at the address they stopped and searched three people leaving and they were unable to provide an explanation for being there.

The house was fitted with a video and audio monitoring system.

During a search of the property drugs with a street value of more than £80,000 were seized.

In the bedroom where Hunter and Tucker slept, police found cannabis and cocaine worth over £6,000.

The room also contained a drug press, scales and mixing agents used for the preparation of drugs.

A total of 32 packages of cannabis were found in Bass' room.

The plants were capable of producing £1,100 worth of the class B drug.

During a search downstairs, 1.2kg of cocaine, worth just under £50,000, was in two locations.

Around £29,000 worth of the class A drug was found in a safe hidden beneath floorboards and £19,000 worth was found in a kitchen cupboard along with benzocaine, a mixing agent.

Amphetamine worth £26,000 was found in a cupboard under the stairs.

A taser fitted with a cartridge capable of discharging a high-voltage electricity charge was found in a drawer.

Officers also seized a crossbow from the address.

Details of a self-storage unit belonging to Hunter was also found.

The unit, at Low Road, Hunslet, contained commercial catering equipment used for mixing drugs with bulking agents.

A mixing machine and mixing bowls contained traces of amphetamine sulphate and caffeine.

Further evidence of drug trafficking was found on the defendants' mobile phones.

A video on Bass' phone contained footage of someone handling large bundles of £20 notes.

Text messages between Hunter and Tucker made references to the selling of 'dust', a slang term for amphetamine.

Hunter, 27, was jailed for seven years and six months after pleading guilty to possessing a class A drug with intent to supply, two counts of possessing a class B drug with intent to supply and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Bass, 19, was sent to a young offender institution for 22 months after pleading guilty to.possessing a class B drug with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of a class B drug and dangerous driving.

Tucker pleaded guilty to production of a class B drug, possessing a class B drug with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of a class B drug .

She was given a 14-month sentence, suspended for two years.

Tucker was also made the subject of a four-month electronically-monitored curfew and was ordered to complete ten rehabilitation activity requirement days.

The court heard Hunter had worked for Costco for ten years but became involved in drugs after he was badly injured in a motorcycle accident.

He began using cannabis in baking which he ate to deal with the pain from his injuries.

Hunter then sold the drug to fund his habit before being put under pressure by others to store and prepare cocaine and amphetamine for wholesale supply.

Richard Reed, for Tucker, said she had been in a relationship with Hunter for four years.

Mr Reed said Tucker was not a drug user and had been working long hours as a carer at a mental health unit during the offending.

He said: "To a large extent she turned a blind eye to what was going on."

Mr Reed said Tucker's ambition to become a senior nurse like her mother is now ruined.

Stephen Welford, for Bass, said his client became involved when he went to live with Hunter and Tucker in November 2019 after he was released from custody.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: "Cautley Road was the address at which all three of you were living.

"It is apparent that over a period of time it was a drug den."

After the case, Sergeant Chad Stevens, of Leeds District Neighbourhood Impact Team, said: “This was a significant seizure of substantial amounts of drugs that were clearly destined to be dealt on the streets of our communities where would have fuelled crime and anti-social behaviour.

“This came about as a result of proactive work by the team in relation to the theft of a motorbike in the city centre, and shows the link between acquisitive crime and the organised supply of drugs.

“We hope the sentences that those involved have received will serve as a deterrent to others and also reassure the community of our commitment to keep targeting the supply of drugs and associated crime.”