A man who was caught driving on the motorway with over £2 million worth of amphetamine has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Simon Brown, aged 50, of Bower Hill in Epping, was jailed at Stafford Crown Court on Friday (August 28) after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

The huge stash of speed was discovered on April 23, when officers from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) carried out a routine stop of the white Peugeot van that Brown was driving.

He was pulled over at a petrol station on the southbound M6 near Stafford at around 10pm.

Police officers searched the van and found nine boxes hidden among clothes, each one with 10 to 12 packages of amphetamine.

In total, the boxes contained 200kg of the drug at a street value of around £2 million, and Brown was arrested and charged with intent to supply class B drugs.

His home in Epping was then searched, uncovering another 817g of the drug with a value of around £8,170, as well as 18.5kg of cannabis with a street value of approximately £92,500.

Investigating officer DC Sam Lainchbury said: “This was an excellent piece of routine policing which uncovered a large amount of drugs which we believe were destined for the streets of Essex.

“Following CMPG’s arrest of Brown we carried out intensive and detailed inquiries to gather the evidence against him.

“Staffordshire Police is committed to continuing the fight against drug dealers and we strive to bring them to justice.

“This investigation has removed a significant amount of drugs from the streets and will go some way to reducing the crimes associated with funding drug misuse, such as burglary and theft.

Chief Inspector Jed White, of CMPG, said: “Our officers patrol the regions motorways 24/7 and deal with a wide variety of offences, from minor vehicle defects right through to arresting those, like Brown, who are involved in serious organised crime.

“This is a great example of how CMPG contribute to the wider policing work in the region, tackling what matters to their communities and preventing criminals using our roads for illegal purposes.”

Brown was imprisoned for four years for possession with intent to supply amphetamine (200kg), with a further 12 months for the amount found at his home to run concurrently.

He was also sentenced to two years for possession with intent to supply cannabis, to run consecutively.