Bungling drug addict snared after hiding £14k of cocaine behind neighbour's shed

Lee Mullen was caught on camera, then spotted as he attempted to conceal a box to the rear of the outbuilding at the house next door.

The neighbours investigated and were shocked to discover 145grams of cocaine inside the Tupperware before alerting the police.

Newcastle Crown Court heard a woman was on her lunch break at work when she got a ring doorbell notification showing Mullen leaving her home, where she lived with her parents, at around 12pm on May 13 2024.

She was confused as there had been no notification showing the man, who she knew as a neighbour, entering the property.

The woman then received another alert showing Mullen was at the front door, trying the handle while appearing under the influence and topless.

The woman used the speaker to ask what he wanted and he demanded to be let in. When she later returned home, her dad advised her to look behind the shed because he had appeared to place something there.

When she investigated, she found a tupperware box containing 145g of cocaine and police were called. Mullen was arrested and his phone contained messages showing he had been supplying drugs to a number of people.

A drugs expert said the cocaine found behind the shed could have been worth up to £14,500 when broken down into deals.

While on bail for that, Mullen and another man smashed the windows of two women on November 10 2024.

The two victims, one of whom is a grandmother, were left terrified and one said she believed her house was wrongly targeted.

The following day, he rammed police cars when they surrounded him in a car in Newcastle city centre. He was found in possession of cocaine and temazepam and had a brick in the car.

Mullen, 30, of Strathmore Road, Gateshead, who has nine previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply on the basis he was warehousing the drugs to pay off a £4,000 drugs debt.

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He also admitted two counts of criminal damage, dangerous driving, possessing cocaine and temazepam and failing to comply with a specimen for analysis. He was jailed for 45 months.

Rachel Hedworth, defending, said: "He got himself in a huge mess as a result of his drug addiction. He has the prospect of work and the support of his family and has a home to go back to. He has an opportunity to rebuild his life."