Crewe man jailed for drugs offences following police stop and search

A 26-year-old man from Crewe has been jailed for drugs offences after he was stopped by two officers patrolling the town on scrambler bikes.

Kyle Schofield, formerly of Birchall Walk in Crewe, appeared at Chester Crown Court on 7 June to be sentenced after admitting possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis.

Schofield also admitted being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug in relation to two packages of cannabis that were intercepted by Border Force at Heathrow Airport in London on Wednesday 12 January 2022.

The packages from America, where cannabis is legal in California for recreational use, were addressed to Schofield’s home. They had a total street value of between £3,630 and £6,040.

He was sentenced to three years and three months in prison.

Schofield was caught in possession of seven snap bags of cocaine on Wednesday 16 February 2022 by two officers on patrol in Crewe.

They were proactively using Op Scrambler off-road motorbikes to patrol areas of the town which can be difficult to access using traditional police vehicles.

The officers stopped Schofield on a footpath in the Brookhouse Drive/Claughton Avenue area and observed that he smelled of cannabis and looked nervous, so they searched him.

After finding the drugs - which had a street value of between £170 and £340 - in one of his trouser pockets, they arrested Schofield, who subsequently shouted to a passer-by: “Get to my flat straight away.”

Fearing that incriminating evidence would be removed from the address, they left supporting colleagues from Crewe LPU to take Schofield to custody while they headed to Schofield’s flat on their scrambler bikes.

The property was subsequently searched, and cocaine, cannabis and drug paraphernalia officers found inside the flat, were seized.

The 23 snap bags of cocaine seized from the address had a street value of between £460 and £1,150, whilst the cannabis had a street value of between £320 and £335.

When interviewed in custody, Schofield claimed the ready to be sold drug packages that were seized were for personal use.

He was charged with possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis, and the strength of the evidence gathered against him in an investigation led by Crewe CID left Schofield with little option but to plead guilty to the offences.

Cheshire Constabulary's Roads and Crime Unit and Response Superintendent, Sarah Heath, said:

“This case emphasises the importance of the police’s power to stop and search people suspected to be involved in crime.

“It also shows the value of the Constabulary having off-road motorbikes and the substantial number of officers trained on how to use them to access areas that are otherwise difficult to police.

“As a result, another class A drugs dealer and quantities of cocaine and cannabis with a total street value of between £4,580 and £7,865 have been removed from our streets.”