Prosecuting barrister Eleanor Watson told Preston Crown Court that Muhammed Hoque had entered a basis of plea in relation to the charge of possession with intent to supply cocaine, claiming that he was involved with the operation only for a limited time after losing his job at William Hill during the pandemic.

She said: “He couldn’t find another job and got himself into debt.

“At the time he was in the throes of a gambling addiction and was addicted to scratchcards.

“He took out a loan of £3,000 from someone with a view to repaying it in instalments but he was unable to pay it back.

“He was then placed under pressure which led to him becoming involved in this.

“He bagged up drugs from his homes address and was given a phone from which orders were placed.

“He said he was threatened and on occasion his property was damaged.”

Miss Watson said the Crown accepted the plea and told the court that on March 20, 2021, police attended his home address in Brougham Street, Burnley, after receiving reports of a fight in which a person was bleeding.

She said the people who had been fighting had come from Hoque’s house and when officers tried to enter the property to see if anyone was injured, Hoque appeared at the door and told them they weren’t allowed in without a warrant.

She told the court: “The police forced entry to the property and found several wraps of white powder, weighing scales and a large amount of money.

“A search was carried out and further bags of white powder were recovered along with three mobile phones, SIM cards and £6,202.67.

“A gold metal baton was also found and officers seized a total of 71.92g of cocaine worth an estimated £7,180 if sold on the streets.

“The Crown says the defendant played a significant role as it was clear from the amount of money that he had an expectation of financial gain.”

Sentencing Hoque, 26, District Judge Graham Jones told him the court took offences like this seriously.

He said: “There must have been some awareness of the scale of the operation as you were trusted enough by those above you to be in possession of more than a small quantity of cash and controlled substances.”

Hoque was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years and must carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.

A deprivation order was also made for the sum of £6,202.67.