News

Drug dealer from Wigan who stored cocaine in coffee tins has been jailed

32-year-old Martin Bradshaw has been jailed for three years and six months.

Emily Sergeant - 17th February 2022

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed that a drug dealer from Wigan has been jailed after storing cocaine inside coffee tins.

32-year-old Martin Bradshaw, of Ashbourne Avenue in the Aspull area of Wigan, appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance, possession with intent to supply a class A controlled drug, and facilitating the acquisition/possession of criminal property.

It comes after on Friday 5 June 2020, an officer spotted Bradshaw driving erratically in his Mercedes Benz along Scholes, Wigan, and attempted to stop the car, but Bradshaw began to accelerate, and eventually managed to flee the officer.

The car was spotted shortly afterwards parked up on Higher Lane in Aspull, and was then seized by officers.

The following day, after receiving intelligence that the car was linked to the supply of controlled drugs, officers said they returned to the compound where the car was being kept and forced entry to it.

Following a search, bank cards, and a coffee tin containing cocaine were seized, as well as two burner phones, which both contained details of drug supply.

On Sunday 7 June, Bradshaw attended Wigan police station and was arrested, and following further investigation, it was uncovered that he had purchased a static caravan in Blackpool – which was subsequently seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, as well as the Mercedes.

Following a vehicle search, bank cards, and a coffee tin containing cocaine were seized, as well as two burner phones / Credit: GMP

Bradshaw has been jailed for three years and six months, and he has also been disqualified from driving for three years and nine months.

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing has been set for 15 June 2022.

Speaking on the sentencing, Police Constable John O’Donnell of GMP’s Wigan District Tasking Team said: “Bradshaw’s reckless and dangerous driving not only risked the lives of innocent members of the public but it also allowed us to recover drugs from his car and uncover that he was engrained into a drug dealing chain.

“Drugs blight communities and negatively impact the lives of all those involved [and] I hope today’s sentence sends a clear message that this type of activity is not acceptable in Wigan or Greater Manchester and GMP will do all it can to target and disrupt this activity.

“Information and intelligence we receive from the public in regard to drug dealing in the area can greatly assist our investigations so I would encourage anyone who may know of or suspect someone involved in the trade of drugs to get in touch with police.”

Featured Image – GMP