Driver was carrying so much cannabis police could smell it through his car on M1
A driver ‘took off like a stabbed rat’ on the motorway after police realised his car was full of cannabis.
Kristopher Prospere, 25, was travelling on the M1 when police clocked the strong smell of the Class B drug.
Prosecutor Stefan Weidmann told St Albans Crown Court: ‘The car smelt so pungently of cannabis on the motorway that it attracted the attention of police. They pursued who the defendant who took off like a stabbed rat.
‘It was a very long chase with a total disregard for the rules of the road and a total disregard for safety of others.’
During the police chase down the M1 and around part of the M25 on November 8, 2021, Prospere reached speeds of up to 135 miles per hour.
He avoided a police blockade by undertaking and came off the M25 at Junction 13 for Staines, where he went through two red lights.
Prospere then drove into a dead end, where he was arrested.
When the cannabis was weighed after he was caught, it was found to have a value of up to £38,000.
Prospere, of Wellington Road in Croydon, was sentenced after previously pleading guilty to dangerous driving and possessing a Class B drug with intent to supply.
Defending, Timothy Banks said the carpenter was driving the drugs to clear a debt.
He added Prospere had been helping other inmates to read while on remand.
Sentencing him this morning, judge Sandeep Kainth said: ‘It was one of the worst types of dangerous driving.
‘You were putting members of the public and yourself at risk.’
He sentenced Prospere to 14 months in jail, and banned him from driving for 31 months.
He must take an extended retest before getting his licence back.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.