A MAN who stamped his name into drugs and attempted to take them into prison has been jailed.

Stephen Best, who owns a yacht at Brighton Marina, stamped the name “Besti” into a large quantity of drugs.

After he handed himself into the police he still turned up with a bag of illegal cannabis.

The 30-year-old from Sompting owned a storage unit in Willowbrook Road, Worthing.

Trading Standards, who were conducting a search of the storage units, told the police a large quantity of drugs were found on November 13 last year.

While officers were at the scene, Best arrived in his car, but quickly drove off, speeding through a red light in the escape. He was identified as the owner of the unit and the yacht and both were searched by officers. Cannabis resin, cocaine and crystal MDMA were seized.

“Besti” was found imprinted on a number of the cannabis resin bars. He appeared at Brighton Crown Court on Monday, June 3, following an earlier guilty plea to possession of cannabis and four counts of possession with intent to supply drugs... cocaine, MDMA, cannabis and cannabis resin.

When Best handed himself into police on November 27 he brought with him a bag which he claimed he had packed in case he was held in custody. Officers searched the bag and found a large quantity of herbal cannabis inside. He was remanded in custody and given a total of 42 month in prison at Brighton Crown Court.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Noel Simmonds said: “The investigation was unique for several reasons. The quantity of drugs was considerable and while it is not unusual for drug dealers to set up brands of drugs, I’ve never seen someone stamp their own name into them.

“It’s quite rare as well for someone to arrange the date, time and location of their arrest and still turn up in possession of illegal drugs. As well as the physical and mental harm caused by illegal drugs, they are a contributing factor to violent crime and Sussex Police will continue to target those trading in them as part of our strategy to make Sussex safer for everyone. We hope this sends out a strong warning to those that would deal misery on our streets.”

Richard Sargeant, West Sussex Trading Standards team manager, said: “Our sniffer dog operation led to this discovery of drugs and I am pleased that by working in partnership with Sussex Police, this individual was brought to justice.”