Cornwall 'beach-find' cocaine dealer jailed Published duration 5 October 2018

image caption Dylan Russell claimed the cocaine was found washed ashore on a Cornish beach

An electrician who went on the run for 10 years after police raided his home and found drugs worth £90,000 has been jailed for four and a half years.

Officers found cocaine, cannabis and other illegal drugs in Dylan Russell's home in St Austell, Cornwall, in 2008.

Truro Crown Court heard he was arrested on 24 March in St Day, 23 miles away.

He admitted four counts of possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply and five of possessing cannabis, MDMA, ketamine, diazepam and LSD.

The court heard Russell, now 39, disappeared with "only the clothes he stood up in" and could not be found despite "extensive" police searches.

Robin Smith, defending, said when Russell was arrested in March for possession of cannabis and then charged for the 2008 offences he made the "positive decision to face the music".

Philip Lee, prosecuting, said the drugs were worth approximately £90,000, including 365g of cocaine with a potential street value of £18,230.

He said attempts to trace Russell included inquiries with all the relevant services including, banks, borders and the DVLA.

Mr Smith said Russell had lived hand-to-mouth picking fruit and vegetables for cash in the first five years after 2008 but had been living in St Day working in events since then.

He added that Russell came across the cocaine "entirely fortuitously" as it was "part of a several million-pound consignment of apparently Columbian cocaine that was washed up on the beaches of Cornwall in 2008".