A man who was stopped by police in Stowmarket during the first coronavirus pandemic lockdown pretended to be a delivery driver to enable him to drop off drugs to customers, a court has heard.

Nandi Haxhiu was driving a car when he was stopped by police on April 9 last year in and claimed to be his brother who was employed as a delivery driver, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

Sentencing Haxhiu to a community order and ordering him to do 120 hours' unpaid work, Recorder Heather Rogers QC said that when he was stopped by police he had his brother’s ID and was wearing his brother’s uniform.

“You disguised yourself to allow you to work in the delivery of drugs,” said the judge.

She said a phone found in his possession contained a large number of messages relating to drug dealing.

Haxhiu, 29, of Lavengro Road, Norwich, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis between March 1 and April 9 last year.

The court heard that he had run up a drug debt after developing an expensive cocaine habit.

He had tried to pay off the debt by gambling and when that failed he had tried to settle it by working for his dealer.