Speeding driver jailed after drugs bust

Class A substances valued at £63,000

A driver stopped by police after a speeding offence ended up with more than a fixed penalty notice and three points after officers subsequently found drugs and cash worth £75,000.

Cocaine, MDMA and cannabis, as well as more than £11,000 in cash, was discovered at the home address of Lukasz Hartuna in Plymouth.

Mr Hartuna, 26, was suspected by traffic cops of falsely naming another driver following a speeding offence. He was stopped by officers who discovered he was in possession of drugs.

During a later search of his home, police recovered drugs with a street value of over £63,000 and £11,630 of cash confiscated as proceeds of crime.

The drugs dealer, of Mill Street, Plymouth, pleaded guilty to possession of drugs with intent to supply at Plymouth Crown Court, where he was jailed for 32 months.

Cannabis was amongst the haul that police seized

Devon & Cornwall Police operations manager Richard Kent-Woolsey said: “Devon & Cornwall Police road safety team work tirelessly to make our roads safer and this includes disrupting criminals using our road network. 

“This is another example of a criminal trying to dodge a speeding ticket by falsely nominating a driver and as a result getting caught and prosecuted for a serious criminal offence.”

Supt Adrian Leisk, strategic roads policing lead for Devon and Cornwall Police: said: “We are working hard and in collaboration with our Vision Zero South West partners to ensure the roads of Devon and Cornwall are safe.

“We have dedicated officers all over the two counties – not to mention numerous cameras and ANPR technology – to help us identify road traffic offences throughout our region.

“As this example demonstrates, these actions will also help us catch other criminals using the road network and I hope this makes them think twice about doing so.”