A MAN said he was disposing of hundreds of pounds worth of class A drugs that his girlfriend was planning to use when he was caught red-handed by police.

Somerset Magistrates were told that Israel Dirhi Udi came from a very religious family and had “a strong moral compass” and after visiting his girlfriend in Chard intended to dispose of them once back home in London.

Udi, 20, of Latona Road, London, pleaded guilty to being in possession of 1.92g of cocaine and 0.96g of heroin at Chard on March 16 when he appeared before the court at Yeovil.

Prosecutor Christine Hart said that the police attended an address in Chard and whilst there became suspicious of the defendant’s behaviour and searched him.

“Under his zipped up jacket was a shoulder bag which contained a number of wraps of drugs, and he was arrested,” she said.

“When they were later examined they were found to be four wraps of cocaine, 11 of crack cocaine and a further eight containing heroin.

“When he was interviewed he made no comment and when his mobile phone was examined there was no information on it which suggested any involvement in drug dealing.”

Miss Hart added that the street value of the drugs was around £20 per wrap.

Chris Ivory, defending, said that Udi had gone to Chard because he met a girl through an online dating website and came down from London to meet with her.

“When he arrived she told him she liked to spend her recreational time using class A drugs which shocked him as he came from a very religious family of practising Christians and had a strong moral compass,” he said.

“Udi explained to her that drugs were not his type of thing and took them away from her and put them in his rucksack intending to take them back to London and dispose of them.

“However he was in possession of these drugs when the police arrived and is guilty of these two offences.”

He said that Udi did not even smoke and only drank on rare occasions and had been to see his GP recently because of his low mood after he suffered a great deal of stress due to the court proceedings.

The magistrates fined the defendant £73 for each of the two offences and also ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge. They also issued a destruction order for the drugs.