Guilty plea from Onchan man caught with £250k of cannabis

Manchester man who supplied the drug also pleads guilty

An Onchan man who was caught with more than a quarter of a million pounds of cannabis has admitted possessing the drug with intent to supply it to others.

Christopher Joseph Parker, of Fairfield Avenue, appeared alongside the Manchester man accused of importing the Class B drug to the Island at Douglas Courthouse today.

Sixty-two-year-old Bilal Moghal, of Jennison Close, admitted producing the drug from the UK on 3 September as well as supplying the drugs to Parker on the same date.

Parker, who is 43, admitted two offences of possession with intent to supply and possession of more than £33,000 in criminal property.

At a previous hearing the court was told Parker had attended Corkills Garage, in Onchan, in a van and parked on the forecourt – he was then seen getting into a UK registered hire vehicle being driven by Moghal.

The two men were seen passing items between their vehicles – when police stopped Parker they recovered 13 kilos of cannabis in his van which had a street value of more than £267,000.

The prosecutor told the court the drugs had a ‘very high purity’ adding that Parker had told officers: “Someone asked me to pick something up.”

Parkers’ home was searched and police recovered almost 400 grams of cannabis in the kitchen which had a street value of almost £8,000; cannabis and cash was also found in his garden.

Moghal was stopped by police in Onchan – he told officers he was on the Island to deliver takeaway items to an Indian restaurant; ‘cheap’ polystyrene food containers were found in his vehicle.

The court heard he’d paid £950 for his travel to the Island, via the Steam Packet Company, with the prosecutor telling the court his explanation for being on Island was ‘frankly farcical’.

Both men will be sentenced at the Court of General Gaol Delivery - they'll next appear there on 11 November.

There was no application for bail and both men have been remanded at the Isle of Man Prison until that date.