Chad Lee, a 36-year-old father from Birmingham, has been sentenced to 44 months in prison after police discovered a £24,600 stash of cocaine in a storage unit at Minworth Storage Solutions on April 10. The court heard that Lee, who was already on licence for a ten-year drug trafficking sentence from 2020, returned to crime to pay off a drug debt incurred from drugs seized in a previous bust.
Details of the Offence
Prosecutor Mr Redman told Birmingham Crown Court that when police arrived at the storage unit, they found Lee holding a large amount of cocaine, along with a knife, an iPhone, and scales. The total weight of the cocaine was 341 grams, with an estimated street value of £24,640. Lee answered no comment during police interview but provided a prepared statement.
Previous Convictions
Lee has 22 convictions for 39 offences, including the ten-year sentence for drug trafficking imposed in 2020. He was released from that sentence in 2024 but was recalled to prison following this new offence. The court noted that his offending was aggravated by his previous conviction and the fact that he was on licence at the time of the new crime.
Impact on Family
Mitigating, Mr Mann told the court that Lee accrued a significant debt because of drugs seized previously and was trying to make up the loss. He added that Lee's partner wrote a letter to the court, and the couple have a ten-month-old daughter. Lee will not be released until 2030, meaning he will miss a significant part of his young daughter's life. Mr Mann said: 'His partner misses him, his daughter misses him. He understands, as he sits in custody, the impact on his family at home.'
Prison Behaviour
Despite his offending, Lee became an 'enhanced prisoner' within a week of his jail sentence after courageously helping a prison officer during trouble with another inmate. He has since become a mentor to others and works as a cleaner at the prison.
Sentencing Remarks
Sentencing, Judge Walkling KC told Lee: 'You were found in possession of a large amount of cocaine which is a class A controlled drug - the paraphernalia and mobile phones demonstrating an involvement in the supply of cocaine. This is in the context of you being sentenced [previously] for a number of offences - the most serious of which was drug trafficking. You have been recalled on that sentence as a result of this new offence.' He added: 'Class A drugs are highly addictive. They cause untold damage to communities and they ruin lives. Those who sell class A drugs for their own profit can expect to go to prison for a very long time.'
The judge concluded that Lee had a significant role in the offence, a matter conceded by his lawyers. The drugs and mobile phones will be destroyed.
