Dealer who ate 'cocaine sandwich' to avoid cops caught after Ibiza holiday mistake

A dopey drug dealer who ate a 'cocaine sandwich' in a bid to evade police was eventually undone after he tried to recruit holiday cover.

Matthew Mitchinson was finally busted after trying to find someone to take over his deliveries while he went away for a week to party island Ibiza. The 20-year-old was jailed for 16 months, weeks after he tried to hide three wraps of the drug between two slices of bread which he then began to eat in an attempt to hide his stash.

The attempt to avoid justice led to him being taken to hospital after he became ill from swallowing the wraps. Now, a judge has jailed the dealer for a further three years. Carlisle Crown Court heard that Mitchinson, from Carlisle, Cumbria, was caught trying to throw three cocaine wraps and £290 into a bush when he was approached by police back in July 2024.

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Police then searched his home where they found an ounce of high purity cocaine and a mobile phone containing drug dealing messages. Prosecutor Tim Evans described one message, sent on July 27, where Mitchinson attempted to recruit somebody to deal drugs for him while he had a week away in Ibiza.

Mr Evans said: “It was plainly a street dealing enterprise.” Two-and-a-half weeks later, cops raided the home of Mitchinson’s co-defendant Henry Lovell, aged 19 – who tried to flee the scene after he’d been handcuffed.

He was stopped when he ran into the path of an oncoming police car. When police returned to Lovell’s home later, they found Mitchinson inside alongside bags, gloves, digital scales, and 62 wraps of cocaine.

Mitchinson told the officers: “I’ve done nothing wrong; I’ve come to see a pal.” The fingerprints of both defendants were found on much of the drug dealing kit and wraps. Once again, mobile phone messages pointed to street dealing.

Lovell, who has never before been in trouble, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and escaping from lawful custody. Mitchinson admitted two counts of being concerned in cocaine supply and possessing the Class A drug with intent to supply. He has seven previous drug offences on his record.

Kira Unsworth, for Mitchinson, said he had expressed genuine remorse for offending which he claimed was motivated by financial struggles faced by himself and his mother. “In his words, it was so they could put food on the table,” said the barrister.

Miss Unsworth said the defendant, who had used cocaine since he was 16, had used his time in custody productively and engaged with drugs services. He intends to continue this work and remain abstinent from cocaine once he has been released. “He is said by prison staff to have an outstanding work ethic,” continued the barrister.

Once released, he planned to work with his father and move away from Carlisle to help distance himself from criminality. Andrew Evans, for Lovell, said his client feared prison and had become aware of the societal impact of illicit drugs. Supported by two solid references, the defendant had been addicted to cocaine but had now kicked his habit.

Having suffered two bereavements – including the death of a cousin in a motorbike accident – Lovell had been exploited. Those losses drove him towards addiction, said Mr Evans, adding: “That and negative peer influences; he said that everyone was taking cocaine.”

The defendant is now supported by a neighbour who was prepared to give him work and put him through an apprenticeship, the court heard. Judge Nicholas Barker noted that Mitchinson was the “more experienced” drugs criminal, given his previous offending and that he knew exactly what he was doing.

He jailed him for three years. Lovell, whose risk of reoffending was assessed to be low, was given a two year jail term suspended for two years. He must complete 240 hours of unpaid work. The sentence also includes 20 rehabilitation activity days.