November 2, 2017 9.04 am This story is over 76 months old

Albanian drug courier jailed after being found with £80k of cocaine in Spalding

“His concern now is that he will face deportation.”
Bush Hakaj has been jailed for six years.

A drugs courier caught with over £80,000 worth of cocaine was today jailed for six years at Lincoln Crown Court.

Bush Hykaj was arrested after police who were called out to an unconnected domestic incident at an address in Spalding found him sitting outside the property in a BMW car.

Hykaj said the car was not his and that he had thrown the keys away in a fit of temper.

Mark Watson, prosecuting, said: “It may be that he was hoping the police would not look in the car.

“When they did they found a bundle of cash in the central console.”

Officers also found a sports bag containing 844g of cocaine and 364g of cannabis.

Mr Watson said that if the cocaine was sold in street deals it was worth up to £84,500. The cannabis was worth just over £3,000 if sold at street dealer level.

Hykaj was interviewed but denied he was involved in any offending.

But in court Hykaj, 29, of St James Avenue, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of drugs with intent to supply as a result of the police search of his vehicle on September 5 this year.

Mr Watson added: “He was a paid courier. That was his employment. He accepts that this was not the first of these jobs.”

Judge John Pini QC, passing sentence, told him: “You were motivated by financial reward. You were clearly highly trusted. You did it more than once.

“Where people are convicted of putting large amounts of Class A drugs on the streets of this county this court this court will send a message that this will not be tolerated.”

Lisa Hardy, in mitigation, said that Hykaj had been a recreational user of cocaine but over the last seven months had increased his use of the drug.

She said: “He accepts his motivation was financial. Effectively he was funding his own habit.

“He started taking cocaine a couple of years ago when he was feeling low. It escalated over the last seven months.”

Miss Hardy said that at the time of his arrest Hykaj, an Albanian who arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry at the age of 12, was in a long-term relationship and until the increase in his drug usage was planning to move with his partner to start a new life in Spain.

She said: “He has lost a house in his joint name and his long-term partner.

“His concern now is that he will face deportation. He has very little by way of family members in Albania.

“He knows he has a very substantial period ahead of him in custody. He says he only has himself to blame.”