Albert Nedelcu was followed by police after they saw another man exchange a bag filled with £25,000 in cash for a kilo of cocaine in Church Road, Hove.
Officers followed Nedelcu to a service station where they arrested him and discovered cash under a specially designed hydraulic “hide” in the boot of his car, a Hyundai.
He was among four other people sentenced on Monday for involvement with an Albanian drug gang in the city. One of the men had already been deported from the UK twice.
In total, £42,000 worth of cocaine was seized as well as £30,000 cash after police raided a flat in Palmeira Avenue Mansions, Church Road, Hove, and another property in the same road.
Lorry driver Nedelcu, 23, of no fixed address, was doing a delivery in Derby but had to wait three days for a mechanic after his vehicle broke down, Hove Crown Court heard.
During this time he was approached at a service station by a “businessman” who asked him to take a bag down to Brighton by car but not to look inside it.
Michael McAlinden, defending, said: “He was worried about running out of money and it was a stupid thing to do. He parked the Hyundai and someone got in, took the bag which was a kilo of cocaine. He was told to put the pack in the concealed area.
“There is no evidence of his prior involvement. He was just asked to do a task.”
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Nedelcu had been working as a lorry driver since he was 18 and was earning money to send back to his family in Romania.
He was caught by police at a service station on the A281 near Horsham on June 19.
Nedelcu exchanged the cocaine with Andi Dema, 35, who put cash in the car at around 4pm that day.
Dema, of no fixed address, had already been deported twice from the country in 2021 and 2016 but was put under “significant pressure by people in Albania to come back” to pay his unsettled debts, the court heard.
Dema was said to be around £80,000 in debt to people in his home country.
Brian Shaw, defending Dema, said: “He got involved in dealing drugs three years ago because of debts he accrued. He was told he could come to this country to earn more money by doing construction work.
“He was told the only way he could increase the amount earnt (to pay back his debt) was by dealing drugs. He is concerned about his own safety, his nine-year-old son and wife.
“It is a situation where there seems to be no way for him to break out, being in debt to people who put pressure to sell drugs.”
Ridison Nega, 25, was also seen in the Hyundai and became aware of the police’s presence so discarded a bag with ID and items relating to drug dealing in a bin, the court heard.
Another man Xhenaro Shehu, 20, was caught in a flat in Palmeira Avenue Mansions.
Andrew Stephens, defending Shehu, described it as a “sad case” of a “a young man born to a good family in Albania who because of situations there he feels he wants to do something to help his family”.
Shehu came to the UK illegally and owed money for getting him into the country “on tick”, slang for “buy now, pay later”.
Mr Stephens said: “He thought he would be on a construction site or working at a restaurant. He makes no excuse for getting involved with this but he became involved for a short time and acts as a drug runner and for that he will pay a price.
“The biggest regret along with the harm that drugs caused people was when he had to tell his mother and the shame he felt he had brought on his family.”
All four men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug and possessing criminal property.
Dema, who had two previous drugs convictions, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, with 12 months to run concurrently.
Nega, of Newmarket Road, Brighton, and Nedelcu were both sentenced to four and a half years, with 12 months to run concurrently.
Shehu, of Palmeira Avenue Mansions, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, with 20 weeks to run concurrently.
The judge Recorder Tom Nicholson-Pratt said that all the men are likely to be deported.
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