'Shifty' Leeds drug dealer had £20,000 worth of ketamine in his car when police stopped him for not wearing a seat belt

Joseph Plumb was found to have more than 1kg of ketamine on him when an unmarked police car pulled him over on Batley Road, Wakefield, on July 15 last year.

The 25-year-old admitted possession with intent to supply a Class B drug at Leeds Crown Court.

Joseph Hudson, prosecuting, said the officers were only planning to pull him over to offer him advice on wearing a seat belt when he drove past them.

However, they noticed he began behaving "shifty" and pulled him over after activating their blue lights.

They said he was nervous and began distancing himself from the car.

Plumb gave them a false name and refused to produce ID until they pulled out a fingerprint machine and he told them his real name.

They searched the car and found a large bag of white powder, but Plumb refused to tell them what it was.

When Plumb got to the police station he was told he would be strip searched and pulled out another bag from his pocket containing smaller snap bags of white powder, which were also filled with ketamine.

He had 23 grammes on him, while the bag in the car contained 996 grammes.

The total street value was £20,420.

Plumb, of Virginia Close, Lofthouse, gave a no-comment interview but gave officers the passcodes for his phone, which was found to contain further evidence of drug dealing.

Mr Hudson said there were messages from Plumb asking a recipient how much of the drug they wanted.

In addition, there was mention of a third person who would be doing 'drop offs'.

The court was told that Plumb, who works for a flooring company, had one previous conviction dating back to 2019 for drug driving.

Michael Morley, mitigating, said that the evidence suggests Plumb was essentially involved in street dealing and said: "These are not the actions of somebody sophisticated or in a leading role in a drugs enterprise.

"He is still young. There is another side to this young man, he has been employed for a number of years."

Plumb was jailed for two years.

Recorder Ashley Serr said Plumb played a "significant but not a leading role", adding: "It's not the hallmarks of someone higher up."