A drug dealer was caught red-handed with £12,500 worth of cocaine stuffed inside a Tesco bag for life – before cops uncovered a staggering £500,000 haul at his home.
Bradley Pritchard, 33, has now been locked up after hiding more than half a million pounds worth of the Class A drug.
The crook was pulled over by officers in what he initially claimed was a “work car” – but police were already closing in.
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Officers from Essex Police’s serious and organised crime unit had built a case against Pritchard before swooping.
A quick search of the vehicle revealed £12,500 worth of cocaine stashed inside the Tesco bag for life, as reported by Need To Know.
But that was just the start.
Pritchard first tried to throw officers off the scent by giving them a fake address.
It did not take long for police to track down his real home in Exford Avenue, Southend.
He was arrested on Johnstone Road, Thorpe Bay, in November 2025.
When officers searched his property, they uncovered four 1kg blocks of cocaine hidden inside a pink suitcase in a garden shed.
Another 1kg block was found inside a large plastic tub alongside drug-packing paraphernalia.
Cops also discovered 100g of cocaine tucked away in a bedroom wardrobe.
In total, £512,500 worth of the Class A drug was seized from the address.
Pritchard was charged with two counts of possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply.
The 33-year-old admitted his role in the supply operation and later appeared at Basildon Crown Court on 26 February, where he was jailed for five years and four months.
Financial investigators are now pursuing him under proceeds of crime laws.
Detective Sergeant Leo Fordham said: “Pritchard was very calm when his car was stopped in November and he did everything he could to throw officers off the scent.
“But it didn’t work. We found 5kg of cocaine which we were able to link to him without question, and he ended up with no option but to admit the offences against him.”
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