A selfish drugs courier tried to abandon his girlfriend amid an escape bid from cops – knowing a £25k block of cocaine was under her seat.
Shop fitter Jonathan Tryon and his then partner Naomi Riddick were pulled over after travelling from Ellesmere Port to Rochdale to pick up a ‘consignment’ on behalf of a drugs gang.
On their way to Cumbria, they were chased by police before Tryon, 43, crashed. He jumped over Riddick, 23, as he tried to escape. Both were caught and the car was searched.
Officers found a block of cocaine worth £25,000 under her seat. Following an investigation into an organised crime group in Cumbria, detectives tracked down the major players in the conspiracy.
Tyron has now been dealt with by the courts for his part in the illicit enterprise. Manchester Crown Court heard Tryon was in frequent contact with ringleaders on March 11, 2022.
Arrangements were made for him to travel to Greater Manchester from Ellesmere Port, where he was working. Tryon was told pick up a 248g block of cocaine and take it to Cumbria, prosecutor Jamie Baxter said.
“Soon after they began their journey in a Fiat Bravo, from Cheshire to Rochdale,” Mr Baxter said. “There was further contact while on the road.”
Tryon, Riddick and a member of the gang met outside the Hornet pub in Rochdale, where the exchange took place. The couple then travelled to a Texaco service station on Oldham Road before continuing their trip to Cumbria.
Police later caught up with them before officers used tactical manoeuvres to stop them. Following a crash, Tryon jumped over his partner and tried to escape.
“Upon inspection of the car, in the footwell, officers found a number of empty snap bags and a carrier bag containing the block of white powder,” Mr Baxter told the court.
The cocaine was of 79 per cent purity and was said to have been worth £25,000 on the streets. Both were arrested, with Tryon telling detectives ‘nasty people’ had threatened him and his family.
“He was an important cog in this particular trip,” Mr Baxter said. The court heard Tryon had no relevant previous convictions.
Jim Littlehales, mitigating, said his client was self-employed, but his earning ‘fluctuated’. At the time, he had been living with then partner Riddick in a flat owned by one of the gang.
“He had a cocaine addiction himself,” Mr Littlehales said. “Due to a broken TV at the flat, which cost £3,000 to replace… it was agreed the debt would be written off if they became involved. There is no suggestion he would obtain substantial financial gain.”
Sentencing, Judge Patrick Field KC said: “These offences are not victimless. Class A drugs blight the lives of those who use them and the communities they live in.”
Tryon, of Crowther Street, Castleford, was jailed for two years and three months. Naomi Riddick, of Crown Mews, in Dalton-in-Furness, was handed a suspended sentence in May last year. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs.