Heroin dealer rediscovered drugs in jail as tests halted

Heroin with a street value of almost £4,000 was found by police at Christopher Cooke's home in Brampton

A heroin dealer said he took up drugs again in jail as inmates' use was "rife" after urine tests were halted because of the pandemic.

Christopher Cooke, 41, was stopped and searched by police in December 2021, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

When officers searched his home in Gelt Road, Brampton, heroin with a street value of nearly £4,000 was found.

Cooke - previously convicted of three other drugs offences - admitted possession with intent to supply.

In 2018 Cooke was jailed for more than five years for his involvement in a county lines supply plot, masterminded by Merseyside-based drug barons.

'Prolific' heroin user

The court heard that spell behind bars at Kirkham Prison, near Preston, saw him start abusing illegal substances again.

Drug use in the prison was described as widespread among inmates because the pandemic had seen urine tests halted.

Cooke, who had previously been said to be a "prolific" heroin user, was then released from custody, told he had a £30,000 debt and, according to his barrister Kim Whittlestone, "became involved again".

That triggered a mandatory minimum prison term of seven years which, Recorder Anna Vigars QC was told, would have a "devastating" impact on Cooke's partner.

Cooke was given a discount for his guilty pleas, and given a total jail term of 67 months and six days for the latest offences.