Bolton: Man caught with cocaine and 'secreted' burner phone

Daniel Morris, 27, was spotted by police on November 12 2021 along with another man before he drove off in a Volkswagen.

Officers stopped the car and Bolton Crown Court heard how they found around £2000 in cash, cannabis stashed in the boot, and a black mobile phone before Morris started to struggle to escape.

Joshua Bowker, prosecuting, said: “Although compliant to begin with, his behaviour began to change.”

Daniel Morris was found with several snap bags of cocaine (Image: Newsquest)

He added: “During the course of the struggle, all three officers were assaulted as the defendant thrashed and strained.”

Mr Bowker told the court how during the struggle a mobile phone ‘fell’ from the defendant.

He said: “The burner phone was covered in faeces, showing it had been secreted inside the defendant.”

The officers carried out further searches and found Morris, of Hudson Close, Bolton, had been carrying 31 snap bags of cocaine, worth a total of £1,693 along with cannabis which came to around the same total value.

They also investigated Morris’ phones, finding messages relating to the supply of drugs had been sent out to various people.

According to Mr Bowker one of the messages said “never been so busy.”

Morris, who has two previous convictions for three offences, was interviewed by police and admitted that he had bought the drugs to sell on, saying that he needed a new source of income after being laid off from work.

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

But Nicholas Ross, defending, argued that Morris, who appeared via video link from prison, deserved credit for having pleaded guilty and said that he had been manipulated by more high level drug dealers after becoming a heavy user himself.

He also said that Morris had shown ‘genuine remorse’ which he wanted to demonstrate to the court.

Mr Ross said: “These last few months have been his first experience of prison and a salutary lesson indeed.

“He, unlike more experiences defendants and perhaps drug dealers held up his hands at the lower court and entered guilty pleas straight away.”

He added: “He now understands the seriousness of his enterprise and his decline from drug user to drug dealer.”

Mr Ross emphasised that Morris had been dealing in cocaine, rather than the more deadly crack cocaine and said that his previous history of work and education showed that “there is another side to Daniel Morris.”

He said: “This is a young man who was clearly out of his depth, with serious consequences.”

ALSO READ: Man 'of good character' forced to deal drugs in streets to pay off debts

ALSO READ: Police working to 'cut the head off the snake' when tackling drug dealing in Bolton

ALSO READ: 'Unsophisticated' drug duo dealt crack and heroin from Bolton flat

Judge Tom Gilbart accepted that there was indeed a more positive side to the 27-year-old “that doesn’t involve criminality.

But he reminded the court of the injuries he caused to the police officers and his role in the drug trade, even if this was not “at the top of the tree.”

Addressing Morris, Judge Gilbart said: “These were people who you now recognise were simply trying to do their job.”

He added: “This was a significant role with some expectation of financial reward and some awareness of the scale of the operation.”

Judge Gilbart sentenced Morris to a total of three years and four months in prison.