Drug dealer stuffs bag of cocaine up his bum during a police search in Leeds

Andrew Leeming, 38, was then taken to hospital by officers but refused to be examined and angrily insisted he had not hidden anything.

Leeming had been a passenger in a car that was stopped by police in Swinnow Lane on March 12 this year. After officers noticed Leeming fidgeting with his trousers, they ordered a search. Leeds Crown Court heard that officers then saw a bag of cocaine “protruding from his anus”.

After being told to take it out, Leeming instead pushed the bag further inside his body and officers had to take him to hospital to be examined. Prosecutor Rhianydd Clement told the court: “He refused an examination and became aggressive when he was asked about items in his anus.”

Police recovered drugs worth £650 and mobile phones showing he had been dealing to users, along with £160 in notes stashed in the car’s sun visor. It was not made clear what proportion of the drugs was on his person.

Leeming, of Copgrove Close, Bradford, eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of Class A drugs. The court heard that the offences had been committed while Leeming was subject to a court order for assaulting an emergency worker.

Mitigating, Andrew Dalby told the court that his client had suffered for many years from drug problems and was at a particularly “low ebb” when the offending took place.

He said Leeming had been homeless despite pleading with authorities to help him find accommodation. Because he had no address, he was unable to claim benefits.

“He was sleeping rough,” he said. “It was during that time that he was offered drugs and he relapsed and became addicted once again.

"His wife has been extremely supportive. He has a family which now includes grandchildren.”

Jailing Leeming for three years, Judge Simon Batiste said: “I have read references from your wife and your mother, and I understand you have been offered employment. It is impressive to be offered a job in these circumstances.

"But dealing drugs on a drugs lines are serious matters. You had some awareness as to the scale of the operation.”