A SELBY man was caught by police with a £250,000 drugs stash, a court heard.

Philip James Easey, 41, of Northfield Lane, Riccall, pleaded guilty to supplying 50 kilos of cannabis resin.

Andrew Campbell QC, prosecuting, told York Crown Court that Easey had been followed by police to the Manchester area on January 15.

He said that Easey had been seen passing 50 kilos of cannabis to three men described as "middle-tier drug dealers".

This amount of the drug would be worth between £45,000 and £50,000 if sold immediately or would have a street value of £250,000 if broken up and sold to individuals, Mr Campbell said.

Easey, who runs a shop with his wife, also pleaded guilty to possessing ten kilos of cannabis with intent to supply in March and two counts of possessing cannabis in Escrick.

Mr Campbell said the court needed to establish whether Easey was "at the forefront of drug dealing in the North Yorkshire area or a reluctant and fearful courier working on behalf of a person he is refusing to disclose."

He said that Easey, who has a previous conviction for supplying cannabis in 1989, had given no explanation about where the drugs had come from and had not refuted suggestions by police that the reason he owned two mobile telephones was that he was a drug dealer.

He said Easey's claims that he was working for people to whom he owed a substantial amount of money "lacked realistic detail."

Mr Campbell said a police search of Easey's house when he was arrested had uncovered a small quantity of ecstasy and cocaine and £1,000 in cash.

He said: "We don't accept that he was merely allowing his vehicle to be used or merely following instructions. We also don't accept that he became involved as an innocent courier because he was in debt to, or in fear of, others."

Simon Phillips, for Easey, said that Easey and his family were in debt after a failed business venture in Tenerife and that they lived a modest lifestyle.

He said this did not fit in with the crown's assertion that Easey was being paid for the drugs.

Judge James Spencer QC adjourned the case to a later hearing so that evidence could be heard about Easey's role in the offences before he is sentenced. A date for the hearing has yet to be assigned.

Updated: 16:04 Friday, September 13, 2002