A private hire taxi driver was caught with thousands of pounds of drugs down his trousers when he was pulled over by police.
Raymond Katsande was stopped by officers after he was spotted driving erratically. The taxi driver and personal trainer was then found to be in possession of more than £6,000 of cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and psychedelic drug 2CB.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday afternoon that patrols in the Aigburth area spotted his grey Hyundai car turning into Ivanhoe Road from Parkfield Road at speed and "out of control" shortly after 9pm on March 12 last year. Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said a stop and search then found a "large amount" of class A and B drugs located in Katsande's trousers.
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Further snap bags containing illicit substances were found under the driver's seat, with £1,253 in cash seized from the 32-year-old. In total, the police discovered 81 packages of cocaine with street value of up to £4,050.
Katsande, of Longfellow Street in Toxteth, had also been in possession of 97 ecstasy tablets worth as much as £970 and 37 bags of ketamine valued at £997. Thirty-nine tablets of the hallucinogenic drug 2CB, a stash totaling roughly £390, was also being carried by the defendant - who gave no comment under interview following his arrest.
Matthew O'Neill, defending, described his client as a "man of effectively good character" and an "exceptional" qualified personal trainer. He told the court: "It has caused him a great deal of regret, stress and upset that he has put his family through these proceedings.
"He is realistic and he is pragmatic. He has come today with his bag knowing that the likelihood is he will be incarcerated.
"This man was working as a taxi driver not long before he was apprehended by the police. He was working, living a law-abiding life, but also at the same time would recreationally use class A drugs as many people do unfortunately in this city and in this country.
"What he then started to do is to sell these drugs, because he came out of work. He accepts what he did was completely wrong, and the embarrassment it has caused his family will live with him forever.
"He is not someone trying to seek to put blame on any other people involved in that level of criminality. It was his own choice to start selling class A and B drugs.
"It is in a very sorry state of affairs Mr Katsande finds himself. References paint him in a completely different picture than appears before you today - a kind, hard-working, loving, supportive member of his family.
"Unfortunately he has to face the consequences of his actions. He knows the inevitability.
"There is hope. Many people make mistakes, and clearly this is what has happened in Mr Katsande's life - due to his loss of employment, due to the fact he had a drug problem.
"All these factors, he believes, led him into this level of criminality. The hope is, once he serves his sentence and gets himself back on track, he can live a law-abiding life moving forwards.
"He is a man with many qualities. However, he is going to have to suffer the consequences of his actions."
Katsande admitted possession of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine with intent to supply, possession of 2CB and possession of criminal property during an earlier hearing. He was jailed for 28 months.
Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey KC said: "How it is and why it is that a man of 32 years of age - described as a caring, fun-loving man and hard-working - began to involve himself in the peddling of drugs that causes desperation and destruction to so many people. How it is and why it is that you could cause so much tragedy, stress and anxiety to your loving family - it defies belief.
"You are fortunate to have such a caring and loving family. You have let them down, and you have let them down big style, and you are going to have to live with that for many a year.
"I have no doubt you are remorseful for that which you were doing. When you are released, make sure you never return and never revert to drugs - otherwise you would be letting your family down even more than big style."
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