14 DAY TRIAL // A Swansea driver was stopped by traffic police for using his mobile phone at the wheel, but after trying to convince officers that his phone was at home, he ended up with a five-year jail sentence for drug charges.
When he was pulled over on October 15, Andrew Botto, 26, tried to dodge the on-the-spot fine and told the officers he had left his phone at home, but the police found the mobile device on the back seat of his van and £3,000 ($5,000/€3,590) cash in the glovebox, according to Daily Mail.
Prosecutor Geraint Walters said officers “smelled a rat” and became more suspicious. They decided to search the motorist's van and discovered the phone and the money.
“Botto was seen driving while on the phone and when he denied it the police smelled a rat,” he said.
After Botto's arrest, officers searched through data stored on the cellular and found information about a series of properties linked to the driver. Further investigations led them to a freight container on land on Penlan Fach Road which proved to be a secret lock-up where Botto was hiding cocaine.
“Officers searched a number of properties linked to Botto, including a freight container on land he rented. They used his keys to open the container where they found the drugs which weighed just less than 1kg,” the prosecutor added.
Tests performed by the investigators revealed the drugs were import strength of 66 per cent purity. The street value of the cocaine stash has been estimated at £365,000 ($609,110/€436,980), according to Swansea Crown Court documents.
Botto, from Wern Road Landore, admitted possession of the Class A drug, but said he had been asked to store the controlled substance and would have been paid when they were collected.
Christopher Clee, the suspect's lawyer, told Swansea Crown Court that his client runs Molly’s Mini Market and employs four part-time staff. He also asked for his family to be allowed to continue to run his business.
Judge Paul Thomas sentenced Botto to five years in prison and told him he had provided a “valuable service” to the drug dealers.
Had he admitted his guilt and accepted the £100 ($166/€119) on-the-spot fine, none of the subsequent events would have happened, but it seems that lying was a common habit for this man. Next time he would better use a hands-free device instead of lying to the police.