A BMW driver was found with £20,000 in criminal cash after a police chase in County Durham.
Jack David Green, 23, led police on a short pursuit on March 20, 2020, and ended up smashing into a fence. When officers finally caught up with him, "bundles of illicit cash" were found strewn across the carriageway and "stuffed in a hedge".
Durham Crown Court heard the money is thought to have been made by another suspect from the sale of cocaine, and that Green was working "under the direction" of others at the time to deliver the cash. Green appeared at the court on Friday to be sentenced for possession of criminal property after pleading guilty to the charge after his trial had started.
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The court was told that Green's co-accused is currently "unlawfully at large" outside of the UK and that Green was "laundering money" for him. Jessica Slaughter, prosecuting, said patrolling police officers saw Green driving a BMW 5 series in the Bishop Auckland area at around 11am.
"The car was being driven by the defendant with his former girlfriend as a passenger", she said. "Officers had suspicions about the vehicle and so followed it.
"The car was being driven aggressively and he drove away despite officers activating the blue lights. He drove at speed which the officers thought was unsafe."
Ms Slaughter said Green "drove round a number of tight bends" at speed before he crashed into a carriageway fence. When police caught up with the vehicle, Green was seen "emerging from bushes near a wooded area".
Around the crash site, bundles of £10 and £20 notes were found strewn across the carriageway, with others being found near a plastic bag and "stuffed in a hedge". A total of 20 bundles of cash, totalling £20,000 were discovered, the court heard.
Green, a self-employed groundworker, initially told police the money was legitimate and that he was on his way to take it to a bank. As well as the cash, four mobile phones were also found inside the BMW.
The court heard one of the mobile phones was a "BQ Aquaris", a device which is not readily available to the public and is known to be able to host the EncroChat network, which was used frequently in organised crime. The phone had been "smashed" by the time officers found it and no data could be taken from it.
The court was told Green had previous convictions, one of which was possession of a class B drug with intent to supply, dating back to 2015. He has also already been dealt with for the driving offences he committed in connection with the police chase and received a 12 month driving ban.
Mr Holland, defending, said that messages that were recovered showed "clearly" Green "was not a valued member of the team and appears to be in debt before he took on the role".
"The contempt in the messages show how the co-accused considered this defendant. The messages really rather say what role this defendant played. It was not a valued role, it was under the direction of others delivering things."
Mr Holland added that there "appears to be a degree of pressure" because of a debt Green was said to have owed and he also has a young son.
Sentencing Green, of Patterdale Close, Crook, Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, said he was found with "various bundles of cash" which was "illicit" and said the fact the phone was broken showed there was material on it he "wanted to hide".
He jailed Green for 25 months.
