AN AMBULANCE crew who was called to a medical emergency at the home of a Kendal man discovered evidence of his drug dealing.

A search of the property, which was the home of 49-year-old James Humber, uncovered a stash of heroin with a street value of £4,400 as well as £3,710 in cash and various drugs paraphernalia.

The defendant, of Garth Bank, Kendal, admitted possessing the Class A drug with intent to supply and possessing criminal property, the cash. He was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court.

Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, said the ambulance crew were summoned to the property involved on January 31. They found weighing scales, and nine individual wraps of brown powder.

There was also a larger bag with more of the same substance. Later confirmed to be heroin, there was a total of 35g of the Class A drug. “There was £230 in cash in a wallet on the floor,” said Mr Rogerson.

Also found was a larger quantity of bank notes – a total of £3,480, as well as two mobile phones. Though the defendant’s personal phone contained messages to his family, there were also photos - deleted from the device - which depicted bundles of cash, said Mr Rogerson.

The court heard that Humber had 16 previous drugs offences on his record, but only two related to possession with intent to supply and these occurred in 2010.

Megan Tollit, for Humber, said the drugs and the cash were all linked to a single course of offending. She pointed out that there was no link between the medical event referred to by the prosecutor and the defendant’s drug dealing.

This point was accepted by both the prosecution and the judge.

Humber’s own heroin addiction had stemmed from his long-term addiction to opioid medication, said the defendant's barrister. This developed as a result of a traffic accident, which was corroborated in medical records.

“He was being prescribed opioid medication on a regular basis,” said Miss Tollit.  It was through Humber’s “over-use” of this medication that he had turned to using heroin.

This led to him accruing a “significant debt” and that was why he had become involved in drugs supply. Over the past 14 weeks, while in prison, Humber, who will turn 50 on Wednesday, had undergone a detoxification.

“He has been weaned of [the opioid medication] he was using, the drug that led to his heroin dependency and is stable on a methadone script,” added the barrister.

Recorder Kevin Slack imposed a 45-month jail term. The £3,710 seized from the defendant's home will be forfeited.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Detective Constable Olivia Draycott said the investigtion was a part of Operation Alliance – Cumbria Police’s ongoing response to protect the county against serious and organised crime.

The officer said: “Disrupting community drug supply is among our policing priorities in Cumbria.

“Drugs criminals should know that we will target them robustly and aim to bring them before a court.

“We have a strong track record of this in Cumbria and will continue our efforts to tackle the crime surrounding high-harm drugs such as heroin.”