Posted on the 20th October 2026 in PHTM News

LIVERPOOL CABBIE AVOIDS JAIL DESPITE TRANSPORTING NEARLY £50K OF COCAINE IN SAINSBURY'S BAG

A 63-year-old cabbie from Toxteth, Liverpool, was spared an immediate prison sentence after police found nearly £50,000 worth of high-purity cocaine hidden in a Sainsbury's bag inside his car.

Father-of-three Jean Nlemvo, said he agreed to transport the illicit parcel from Manchester to Merseyside for a fee of just £75 due to financial difficulties. Despite claiming upon his arrest that he "didn't know what cocaine was", Nlemvo later admitted to possession of cocaine with intent to supply on the day his trial was set to begin.

The court heard that Nlemvo's vehicle was initially stopped along the M62 on 15 October 2024 over an unrelated and unspecified matter. When officers searched his vehicle the following day, 16 October 2024, they discovered an orange Sainsbury's carrier bag tied at the handles beneath the driver's seat.

Prosecutor Jonathan Keane explained that the bag contained a cardboard box holding a 485g block of 82 per cent pure cocaine, valued between £19,400 and £48,500. Messages on Nlemvo's iPhone revealed contact from an unidentified recipient saved as "DDD", who texted asking "where he was" shortly after the driver was detained.

Nlemvo, who has no previous convictions and was a former driver for Alpha Taxis of 11 years, accepted in a basis of plea that he turned a blind eye to the parcel's contents while attempting to cope with financial hardship.

Defending barrister Matthew O'Neill pointed to Nlemvo's strong character references, including one written by a local priest, highlighting that the defendant was a devout churchgoer and hard-working family man with children at university. O'Neill argued there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and noted that Nlemvo had been exploited due to his money troubles.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Recorder Mark Shepherd handed Nlemvo a three-year prison sentence suspended for 18 months, alongside 200 hours of unpaid work and a 12-month probation requirement.

Addressing the defendant, Recorder Shepherd said: "It is astonishing to me that, as a 63-year-old, churchgoing, family man with children at university, you would involve yourself in this sort of organised crime for £75. You came very, very close indeed."

The judge added that while Nlemvo had been part of "collective harm towards your community", his lack of prior convictions and low risk to society justified a suspended sentence.


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