A ‘BUSY’ drug dealer caught with more than £12,000 of criminal cash has been jailed for three years.

Daniel Bateman was twice found in possession of cocaine with intent to supply it as well as having stashes of skunk cannabis and Ecstasy at his home, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

Bateman, 30, of Beverley Street, Laisterdyke, Bradford, was stopped in Leeds in May, 2019, with five small bags of cocaine in his car, prosecutor Philip Adams said.

His previous address in Nottingham Street, Bradford Moor, was searched by the police and 33 bags of cocaine valued at £385 were seized, along with eight bags of MDMA, or Ecstasy, and 219 bags of skunk cannabis with a street value of £2,080.

Bateman had £11,704 in cash hidden at eight different locations in the property, Mr Adams said.

Incriminating messages from people asking for drugs were found on his phone.

While under investigation, Bateman was followed by the police along Thornbury Drive, Bradford, on November 19, 2019.

He threw a bag out of the window of his Audi that struck another vehicle.

He was stopped and the bag retrieved from the street. It was found to contain 34 grip seal bags of cocaine with a street value of £497, the court heard.

Bateman, who had £510 in cash with him, made no comment in interview.

He pleaded guilty to two offences of possession of cocaine with intent to supply; simple possession of cocaine and ecstasy; possession with intent to supply cannabis; and possession of the cash as criminal property.

Alex Menary said in mitigation that Bateman had cystic fibrosis and needed to take his medication regularly.

While on bail during the long wait to be dealt with, he had sought employment and committed no further offences.

Recorder Simon Eckersley said it was “utterly inexplicable” why the police had waited two years before contacting the Crown Prosecution Service to take the case forward.

Bateman had been “a busy street dealer of cocaine and cannabis,” persisting in drug trafficking after being released under investigation six months earlier.

But his life had changed very much since then. His partner was expecting their first child and he had kept out of trouble.

There were exceptional mitigating features in the case, Recorder Eckersley said.

Bateman was jailed for 30 months for the first set of offences with six months to run consecutively for the second trafficking offence.