A DRUG dealer has been jailed after police discovered more than £4,500 worth of ketamine and cannabis at an address in Northwich.

Marshall Maddock has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after admitting to two counts of possession with intent to supply class B drugs, as well as a charge of possession of cannabis.

It comes after armed officers and a police helicopter were called to a ‘suspicious incident’ on Church Road.

Maddock, 21, attempted to flee the scene, discarding a package as he ran, but was soon caught.

Following the sentencing at Chester Crown Court on Friday (October 4), PC Matt Uren, of Northwich Proactive Policing Team, said: “Maddock thought he could outsmart the police by trying to flee his address and hide the drugs.

“However, we were on step ahead of him, and with the police helicopter hovering above his home he literally had nowhere to hide.

“While Maddock is now behind bars, our fight against illegal drugs continues and we are committed to doing all we can to ensure those responsible are held accountable for their actions.

“However, this is not an issue that we can tackle alone, information from the public is vital if we are to breakdown the organised crime groups who bring misery to our streets, and I would appeal to anyone who has information to come forward.”

Police received reports of an incident on Church Road at around 11.40pm on August 1, 2023.

Local officers attended the scene, along with support of firearms officers and the police helicopter.

Armed officers approached the address and began to force entry, at which point the police helicopter spotted a man who was leaving the address down a set of stairs at the rear.

As the man was fleeing the address, he was witnessed discarding a package in a cavity under the stairs, before climbing over a garden fence, into the grounds of Sure Store on Chester Way.

Despite his attempts to flee the scene, officers quickly located and detained Maddock.

Police returned to the garden of the address on Church Road, where they discovered two large bags of ketamine, which had a potential street value of £4,720, hidden in the cavity under the stairs.

Officers went on to search Maddock’s address where they discovered a small amount of cannabis and ketamine, along with a large amount of drugs paraphernalia.

Maddock, now of Roberts Drive in Rudheath, was arrested at the scene and subsequent analysis of his mobile phone revealed that he had been dealing cannabis and ketamine.

During questioning Maddock stated he was ‘no drug dealer’ and claimed that he had no knowledge of the phone officers had seized.