Dad ‘hastily’ stuffed bags of cocaine up his bum before Co-op freakout

A drug dealer has been jailed after police discovered £7,000 of cocaine hidden inside his bum and stomach.

Ryan Fisher, who had started working as a landscape gardener, suffered a medical episode while in custody.

He had to be rushed to hospital after it is believed the class A drugs started seeping into his body.

Surgeons at Warrington Hospital in Cheshire discovered and removed the packages which contained 56g of cocaine worth between £2,800 and £7,000 at street level.

The package stuffed inside his bum contained 32 grams of cocaine split into ‘deals’, with a street value of between £1,600 and £3,200, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Police drug experts believe the cocaine was not packaged in the ‘normal way’ and may have been done ‘in haste’ by Fisher to avoid it being discovered by police.

This may have caused the drugs to leak into the 32-year-old’s system, causing the medical episode.

The court heard that police were initially called to a Co-Op store in Woolston, Warrington, Cheshire, on January 28 this year to reports of a man ‘intimidating’ staff.

Officers approached Fisher, who ‘appeared extremely paranoid’, and told them he believed he had a ‘hide in the boot of his car’.

Georgiana Panteli, prosecuting, said the officers subsequently searched a blue Skoda Octavia, which was parked nearby and had Fisher’s innocent dad sitting inside.

Inside, they found £1,100 in cash and a large snap bag containing white powder, leading to both dad and son being arrested.

Tests discovered the substance was sulfuric acid, which Fisher’s dad was ‘legitimately using as part of his employment’. He was later released without charge and had no involvement in any criminality.

While in custody, Fisher suffered a medical episode and was taken to Warrington Hospital.

After arriving at the hospital he asked to be escorted to the toilet and gave the police officer with him £500 in cash he had inside his trousers.

Medical examinations revealed foreign objects inside his bum and stomach. These were both removed and found to contain cocaine.

Sarah Griffin, defending, said her client had ‘lost his head’ at the time but had since ‘demonstrated remorse’, and was ‘trying to rehabilitate himself in custody’ since his arrest.

‘He simply had a mental health episode,’ she added, explaining that he was in a ‘downward spiral’ at the time while dealing with grief following the deaths of two close family members.

Before that, Fisher had been working as landscape gardener, had contact with his nine-year-old daughter, and had his own apartment, she explained.

‘It is clear that here, whether induced by drugs or otherwise, he was not in the right frame of mind,’ she explained, adding that several references presented to the court ‘paint a picture of a very different man’.

Before sentencing, the court heard Fisher had 23 previous convictions for 47 offences, including a 40-month sentence for possession of cocaine with intent to supply in 2022.

Fisher, of Warrington, Cheshire, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after admitting one count of possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

‘You have poor criminal record for your age,’ Recorder Nicholas Flanagan said.

‘I accept that you have sadly suffered some recent bereavements. It is also clear that people speak highly of you, and there are good aspects to your life. You have mental health issues and genuine remorse.

‘It is difficult to understand why you have decided to involve yourself again in the supply of class A drugs.

‘You must know and understand the impact of drugs on users and society at large. Nevertheless, you involved yourself in drugs.

‘These sentences will only continue to get longer if you continue to offend in this way.’

Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, Fisher responded by saying: ‘OK, thank you very much. I really appreciate that. Take care.’

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