8:30 am, October 6, 2025
A used car salesman who tried to hide around £2,000-worth of drugs in his underwear has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.
While presenting himself as a respectable car dealer, Vincent Parkes was in fact hiding a much darker operation as one of the biggest drug dealers in the Northwich area of Chester.
The 36-year-old had been on cops’ radar for several months before he was eventually pulled over while driving a black Audi SQ5 on June 6.
During a search of the vehicle, officers uncovered a quantity of cannabis, digital scales, cash, two phones and a substantial amount of prescription drugs.
Following the discovery, Parkes was arrested and taken to police custody, where officers found approximately £2,000 of cocaine and heroin hidden in his underwear during a strip search.
In response to the discovery, Parkes, of Adlington Drive, Northwich, told officers: ‘I f***ing knew I shouldn’t have had that’, ‘I wanted to get it down the toilet before you got hold of it’, ‘what you’ve got there is a quarter of cocaine’.
He then gave a largely no comment interview to police, although he did claim that the cash recovered was his wages and that the digital scales were for personal use only as he addicted to opiates and was also a user of Heroin.
He later appeared at Chester Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs (Heroin and Cocaine) and one count of possession of Class B drugs (cannabis).
He returned to court last Friday (Oct 3) where he was put behind bars for for 30 months.
Vincent Parkes (© Cheshire Constabulary)
Following the sentencing, Police Constable Chris Box, of Cheshire Police, said: ‘Thanks to the fantastic teamwork of the officers here at Northwich, another drug dealer is now behind bars, and we’ve been able to remove a sizeable quantity of illegal drugs off the streets of our town.
‘The consequences of illegal drugs reach far and wide and the sentence handed to Parkes today should send a strong message to anyone wanting to deal drugs in our town that they will be held accountable.
‘We will always act on any information about drug activity provided to us and I would urge anyone who believes this activity is happening near to them, to get in touch via 101 or on the website.’
Parkes previously spent time in jail in 2023, after being convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to animals, when he left his pet snakes to die in a lock-up garage.
On that occasion, experts said the creatures had likely gone several months without food or water during which time they’d had inadequate or no heating.
