A man who acted as a courier bringing heroin with a street value of �24,000 into Norfolk admitted to police he had done it at least eight times before.

A man who acted as a courier bringing heroin with a street value of �24,000 into Norfolk admitted to police he had done it at least eight times before.

Matthew Thrower, 24, drove from his home in Norfolk to Bradford to pick up the drugs and was stopped by police on the A47 as he was driving back with the heroin in his car.

Norwich Crown Court heard that the estimated total value of the drugs he had brought in during the eight weeks he acted as a courier was �200,000. Thrower told police that he had been paid �7,000 for acting as a courier.

Nick Methold, prosecuting, said: “He (Thrower) would be given money to go to Bradford to collect what he knew to be drugs and bring them back.” He said he would then hand them over on his return to Norfolk.

Thrower, of Mariner's Close, Gorleston, admitted possession of heroin with intent to supply.

Jailing him for seven years, recorder Guy Ayers said: “It would appear on a minimum of eight occasions you went from Norfolk to the north of England to collect the drugs and bring them back to this county.”

He said it would be very obvious a significant amount of drugs were being brought back to supply people in Norfolk.

However he accepted that Thrower who was of previous good character was na�ve.

Michael Clare, mitigating, said: “He is someone utterly devoid of criminal sophistication, he had no idea of what he was letting himself into.”

He said that it was by his own admission that he revealed to police that he had made previous trips to pick up drugs.