Essex 'sugar daddy' jailed after £1m of cocaine seized

Paul West, 36, has been jailed after admitting supplying cocaine

A self-proclaimed "sugar daddy" has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years after police seized £1m-worth of cocaine from a business unit.

Paul West, 36, of Dorset Avenue in Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on Thursday.

Essex Police found more than 11kg (390oz) of cocaine in a black Range Rover parked at the unit in Baddow Park in August 2023.

Footage of West posing next to a box of money was found after his arrest.

In the video, West was wearing a bright pink shirt while sitting in a car, saying "Get yourself a sugar daddy" before flipping the camera to show large sums of money.

Police also found messages about the supply of large quantities of cocaine.

West took a video of himself in a car with a large sum of money

Officers had a warrant to search the business unit, where they found the keys to the Range Rover hidden behind a code-protected door which led to the car parked outside.

Inside the boot, they found a large box containing the cocaine. The drugs were wrapped in various quantities, ranging from 250g (8.8oz) to 2kg (70oz) blocks, and officers found other drug paraphernalia in a rucksack.

West was arrested in Wickford and charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

He initially denied the charge but pleaded guilty on 8 January.

Following the sentencing, Det Sgt David Crane said: "Given the quantity of drugs which we were able to link West to, there is no doubt he was involved in the supply of Class A drugs at a high level.

"He thought he could act outside the law and bragged about the money he was making. He could not."

Det Sgt Crane said the seized drugs had been destroyed.