Drug dealer seen smoking cannabis and counting cash in Nuthall had £26,000 of heroin stashed
A drug dealer who was seen smoking cannabis and counting cash before police pulled him over in Nuthall had £26,000 of heroin hidden under his car bonnet, a court heard.
Reece Bullmore was holding a joint when he was stopped in a blue Audi at a roundabout on the A610 at 5pm on August 16, said Abigail Hill, prosecuting.
He had £330 in his pocket, two wraps of hard drugs in his sock, and a burner phone without a sim card which officers suspected he had discarded.
Hidden in the air condioning pipes under the Audi’s bonnet were £40 of crack cocaine, £50 of cocaine, £110 of cannabis, and £26,340 of heroin.
Nottingham Crown Court heard Bullmore was jailed for 54 months for drug dealing in April 2025 and had only been released in March. He has nine previous convictions for 22 offences, including six for dealing drugs.
Kathryn Hirst, mitigating, said he deserved credit for entering his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.
She conceded he quickly slipped back into re-offending and said: “This is not a success as far as rehabilitation is concerned.”
Bullmore was unable to pay back money demanded under the Proceeds of Crime Act following his 2025 conviction and faced six months in custody.
He also owed money to his former associates and his family and friends were threatened, Ms Hirst added.
“He realises there were other ways of dealing with it,” she said. “He was desperate.”
She said a toxic relationship resulted in a prison sentence for harassment where “he met with people who he feels led him astray and introduced him to drug dealing.”
“He found it really difficult to prise himself away from that particular lifestyle,” Ms Hirst said, adding that his friends clubbed together to raise £20,000 so he could pay off his debts and have a clean start.
“Other people have a great deal of faith in him," she said.
Bullmore, aged 29, of Burnham Drive, Leicester, admitted one count of possessing cannabis, and three counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs on September 23.
Jailing him for 47 months on Tuesday, Recorder James Dawson told him: “You will be released no later than halfway through your sentence and the remainder will be served on licence.”