Man sentenced after speeding near Bicester while carrying £1m of cocaine

A man has been sentenced after he was found with a high amount of cocaine in his vehicle on the M40 near Bicester.

Mark Hadi, 40, of Ashford Road, Eastbourne, was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply cocaine at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (8 September).

At around 11.30am on 9 August on the M40 close to junction 9, he was pulled over by police for speeding and driving dangerously.

Thames Valley Police officers who searched the vehicle under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. According to the police force 10kg of cocaine was located inside his vehicle, which it states is worth an approximate street value of £1 million.

Hadi was arrested on 9 August and charged the following day.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Beck Hurley-Brydon of the Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: “Hadi travelled into the Thames Valley with a significant quantity of class A drugs.

“Thanks to the due diligence of our roads policing officers and utilisation of police stop and search powers, we have been able to take a significant amount of drugs off the streets.

“I hope this sends a message to those that travel through the Thames Valley that our officers are relentless and will deal robustly with those bringing criminality into our area.”

How drugs are classified

The three categories of drugs are Class A, Class B and Class C:

heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and LSD are Class A drugs