A chef who was lured to the UK in search of a better job found himself working for shadowy underworld figures.

Adrian-Marius Bucin, 33, moved from his native Romania to England for work so he could send money home to his young family.

But when he arrived, he found himself ‘lured’ into working for drugs suppliers, Oxford Crown Court heard.

He had only supplied on one occasion when on July 5 he was handed more than 300g of cocaine, given a car and told to drive up to Sheffield with his mobile phone on airplane mode, which Judge Maria Lamb was told was likely so his route could not be traced.

Bucin was told to turn his phone back on when he reached the Yorkshire city and he would be given instructions for the drop-off.

Unfortunately for Bucin, the stolen Mercedes he was driving was stopped in Brackley. He never made it to the steel city.

His advocate, Gareth James, said his client had been recruited by the gang ‘presumably because he is a fresh face’.

Consideration had been given to whether he was a ‘modern slave’, Mr James said. Bucin had initially pleaded not guilty to supplying cocaine, but changed his plea last month.

Bucin had lost his job as a chef during the coronavirus pandemic, but the self-starter got work as a courier.

Mr James said his client wanted nothing more than to return home to be reunited with his family. “The real question for the court is how long the inevitable sentence will be.”

Judge Maria Lamb settled on a three year prison sentence, saying Bucin’s offending fell into the ‘lesser role’ on the sentencing guidelines.

“You got yourself involved in something which was way above what you had ever been involved in before,” she said.

The judge noted that the gangsters had put pressure on the defendant, but added they ‘must have trusted you’ as they had tried to persuade him to recruit others. She said: “You were recompensed for the contribution you were making.”

Bucin, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and driving without insurance or a licence. He had no previous convictions.

He is expected to serve a quarter of his sentence in the UK before being repatriated to Romania.

Judge Lamb imposed eight penalty points for the driving matters.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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