Man jailed after police found hundreds of packages of cocaine inside his washing machine in Wellesbourne

He tried to run away when he turned up at his house and saw police trying to break in
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When the police searched premises on the outskirts of Wellesbourne they discovered an unusual load in a washing machine – hundreds of packages of cocaine ready for sale.

And the fingerprints of a man who turned up as they were about to force their way in, and was stopped as he tried to drive off, were found on the drugs and the washing machine door.

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Shepresim Rexhaj, who has since served a jail sentence for money laundering, pleaded guilty at Coventry Crown Court to possessing the cocaine with intent to supply it.

Shepresim Rexhaj was jailed for four-and-a-half yearsShepresim Rexhaj was jailed for four-and-a-half years
Shepresim Rexhaj was jailed for four-and-a-half years

Rexhaj (27) of Drapers Field, Coventry, was jailed for four-and-a-half years – and is likely to be deported to Albania when he has served his sentence.

Prosecutor Alison Scott-Jones said that in July 2019 the police went to a unit in Walton Road, Wellesbourne, to execute a search warrant.

Before they had got in, Rexhaj turned up in a VW Golf, and on seeing the officers he turned round and tried to leave.

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But he was stopped, and on him the police found a bunch of keys, one of which fitted the lock to the unit.

Once inside they saw painting and decorating equipment and, in the corner, a washing machine in which they discovered a carrier bag containing 522 grams of cocaine.

The drug had already been divided into hundreds of deals worth up to £26,000 on the street, said Miss Scott-Jones.

The washing machine also held a plastic container and a second bag in which they found a further 14 grams of cocaine which had not been divided up.

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And Rexhaj was directly connected to the stash after his fingerprints were found on the front plate of the washing machine and on the plastic container and the carrier bag.

When he was interviewed he came up with a sham story in which he said he had met someone whose name he could not remember who had given him the key and asked him to do some painting work.

He also claimed he had never been to the unit before – but later admitted his story had been a fabrication.

Miss Scott-Jones added that after being released on bail, Rexhaj was arrested last year for money-laundering after being caught with £43,000 in cash, for which he was later jailed for 15 months.

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James Doyle, defending, commented: “It is unfortunate the two matters were not dealt with at the same time, but he tells me he was not charged with this matter until December of last year.”

The cocaine was ‘at the tail-end of the distribution process,’ and Mr Doyle suggested it was ‘a plausible inference that he was concerned with operational management as opposed to a directing role.’

He said that over the years he has been in this country Rexhaj, who came here to earn money to help his family in Albania, had worked for two English men – and when he was arrested last year he was couriering cash for them.

“So far as this matter is concerned, he says he was the custodian. He was in charge of the unit and was looking after the drugs, and when they were due to be distributed on the streets he would hand them over to the seller.

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“He was not involved in the renting of the unit or paying for it, and was not involved in the selling of the drugs.”

Jailing Rexhaj, Judge Anthony Potter told him: “You were in possession of just over half a kilogram of cocaine back in July 2019 with intent to supply it to others.

“It was stored in a unit in Wellesbourne, not a location one would automatically associate with the supply of class A drugs, hidden in a washing machine but already packaged for distribution on the streets.

“Cocaine makes a misery of people’s lives and makes the criminals who deal in it a great deal of money.

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“You were plainly trusted with its distribution onwards, and you were clearly due to make a substantial amount of money from those transactions.”

Judge Potter added: “There is every prospect you will be deported. I don’t make a recommendation for deportation, because it is already being looked at.”