Drug dealer snared with cocaine haul worth £53,000 after making loud phone call on train

A drug dealer was caught with cocaine worth almost £53,000 after discussing his plans loudly on a phone call whilst onboard a train.

John Baxter, 52, boarded a train from Preston to Glasgow with the haul of cocaine on November 28, 2023.

The restaurant worker was overheard by witnesses talking about the picking up and dropping off of drugs.

Baxter was anonymously reported to the British Transport Police whose officers met Baxter on his arrival.

Baxter was snared with high purity cocaine worth £52,600 in his holdall as well as a lock back knife.

His lawyer Stephen McQuillan told Glasgow Sheriff Court: “He seemed to lose track of where he was and discussed things on the phone in ways you see on comedy sketches – thinking it’s okay to discuss these things.”

Baxter pleaded guilty on Thursday to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

He also admitted having a knife in a public place without a reasonable excuse or lawful authority.

Sheriff Louise Arrol KC jailed Baxter for two years and stated: “You are not someone who will be trusted in this capacity again.

“This is obviously a very serious matter.

“There is, in my view, no alternative to custody as without people like you the drug industry cannot survive.”

The court earlier heard that Baxter, of Lanark, South Lanarkshire, boarded an Avanti train from Preston to Glasgow.

Prosecutor Claire Wallace said: “From his conversations there were concerns that he was involved in drugs and he may have drugs on him and bringing them to Scotland.

“He was speaking about picking up drugs and delivering them without hassle.”

British Transport Police received a tip-off from an anonymous text messaging system about Baxter’s conversations.

Baxter was stopped and searched at the train station when he arrived.

Ms Wallace stated that cocaine was kept in various bags inside Baxter’s holdall which amounted to 526.48 grams as well as the knife.

The purity of the drugs was stated to be 80%.

The fiscal depute added: “The potential realised value is between £42,080 and £52,600.”

Mr McQuillan said: “My client fell back into addiction issues and this was a way of getting out of that.

“He brought attention to himself for no good reason at all.

“He realises that he was not considering the impact of his actions.”