A DRUGS courier who was carrying millions of pounds worth of cocaine across the country was caught on his way to Newport to deliver a £1.2 million cargo.

Dale Wigglesworth was driving a truck with 12kg of the class A drug when he was stopped by Gwent Police on the M4 just outside the city.

Prosecutor Kelly Brocklehurst told Cardiff Crown Court: “Between May and June this year, multiple millions of pounds worth of cocaine were being couriered by this defendant.

“On June 6, he was found with 12kg of cocaine on the M4 outside Newport.

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“The defendant was coming from his home county of Kent intending to deliver the drugs to Newport.”

Mr Brocklehurst said Wigglesworth, 44, was trusted by a drugs ring to deliver large amounts of cocaine and cash throughout England and Wales.

In one week between the end of May and start of June, he ferried £6m worth of drugs and money.

His destinations for collections and deliveries included Cardiff, London, Coventry, Hull and Tunbridge Wells.

Brocklehurst added: “He was clearly aware of the scale of the operation he was facilitating.

“The defendant was aware of his cargo and the amounts he was being asked to move in their millions.

“He was highly trusted at the highest level of the organised crime group.”

Police also found an EncroChat phone on the defendant and one linked to him after a raid at his partner’s home.

Mr Brocklehurst said: “EncroChat phones are highly encrypted. On eBay they are on sale for £1,500 a handset.

“They are used by high profile celebrities in the wake of the hacking scandals and by criminals.”

Wigglesworth, of High Street, Queenborough, Kent, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

He had no previous convictions recorded against him.

Jonathan Page, mitigating, said: “Those at the top of the drugs pyramid never go near the drugs.

“He was easy prey for those who are sophisticated. He was addicted to cocaine and he had built up a drugs debt.

“His addiction was getting worse and worse and worse.

“The defendant is not a sophisticated man. He left school as 16 to work for his family’s firm as a gofer.”

Paul Wigglesworth, his brother and managing director of the family company, told the court how the defendant cared for their elderly parents.

The judge, Recorder Sean Bradley, said there was evidence Wigglesworth was “exploited” although it was accepted by the defence he had not been acting under duress.

He told the defendant: “You were heavily addicted to cocaine and you had built up a significant drugs debt.

“You were delivering millions of pounds worth of cocaine for a tiny fraction of their worth.

“This is a sad story. You are a man of previous good character.

“Perhaps you were vulnerable but you took the risks and they have consequences.”

Wigglesworth was jailed for seven years and eight months.