Cocaine courier jailed after road crime officers seize £1m haul from car boot

A driver found with 36 kilos of cocaine in the boot of his car after a 120mph police pursuit has been jailed for more than 12 years.

West Midlands Police released dashcam and bodycam footage of David Sherratt, 48, being wrestled to the ground, after his Peugeot 3008 lost a tyre, and then telling officers: “Good day at the office lads.”

The footage also shows an officer deploying a stinger device and a colleague opening the car’s boot to find two Sports Direct bags, each carrying 18kg of cocaine, with a estimated wholesale value of up to £1.3 million.

In a statement on Monday, police said road crime team officers initially tried to pull over the Peugeot, which was believed to be linked to drugs, on the M5 in the West Midlands.

Sherratt, of no fixed address, pulled towards the hard shoulder but then sped off on the southbound M5 before heading on to the M42, where the Peugeot lost a tyre and was boxed in near Alvechurch, Worcestershire.

Police said Sherratt was seen smashing his phone against the dashboard, but messages were recovered showing he had been involved in the collection of a further 135kg of drugs, earning up to £200 per kilo delivered.

He was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last Monday, police said, and was jailed for 12 years and nine months after admitting being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possessing the drug with intent to supply, and dangerous driving.

Sherratt has 12 convictions for 19 offences dating back to 1995 and was jailed for six years in 2016 for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and more than four years in 2020 for further drugs offences.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Cooke, of the Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands, said: “This is a major recovery of drugs that would have ultimately been sold on the streets of the UK and caused untold misery.

“Sherratt’s attempt to get away from our officers was dangerous and put other road-users at risk, but great work by the Road Crime Team meant the pursuit was brought to a safe conclusion.

“He played a significant role in the distribution of drugs around the country, but will now be spending years behind bars.”

West Midlands Police said its Road Crime Team officers target criminals involved in car key burglaries and other serious and organised crime, using unmarked, high-performance cars as well as distinctive “interceptor” vehicles.

They support the work of Operation Target, an around the clock “mission to disrupt and arrest those involved in guns, drugs, exploitation and more”.