A DRUGS courier was caught with more than 20,000 pills in his car when police officers stopped him.

Steven Wylie, from Derby, was pulled over on the M6 in Thelwall on June 2 and officers found 20,936 pills in two plastic bags hidden in his boot.

They were stamped to replicate ecstasy pills but after examination were found to contain a mixture of BZP and TFMPP, which when combined mimics the effects of the drug.

Warrington Crown Court heard on Monday how BZP is now a class C drug, but was not illegal at the time of his arrest.

Wylie informed officers he had been told there were 10,000 pills in the packets.

Joanne Clarke, prosecuting, said: “He was in debt to his dealer and he had contacted him asking him to deliver a package. He said he felt used and stupid in being involved in it.”

She added that the drugs would have had a street value of between £41,000 and £104,000 if they would have been sold on as ecstasy.

Wylie had a previous conviction for being concerned in the production of cannabis resin five years ago.

Lee Bonner, defending, said that the 25-year-old had no previous record for dealing in class A drugs.

He said: “He has previously used controlled drugs, he had not used them for a year on the date of the offence but had a debt. When that debt was recalled he had been out of work for some time. Unable to pay that debt and under significant threat to him and his family [he carried out the offence].”

The court heard how acting as a courier for the drugs would not have paid off his £600 drug debt.

“He’s not the brightest or sharpest young man, in the face of some considerable pressure made a misguided decision and he had paid the price,” added Mr Bonner.

Judge Thomas Teague said: “You were acting as a courier at the behest of someone else.”

Wylie was handed a two year prison sentence and an forfeiture order was also made for the drugs.