A TEENAGER caught delivering more than £16,000 in counterfeit notes hidden in a toy elephant has been jailed.

Police discovered 14 brown envelopes filled with fake £20 notes stuffed inside the soft toy when they raided Sean O’Grady’s car.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the 19-year-old had driven up from North Wales to deliver the dodgy cash to an address in New Brighton. O’Grady admitted he had sorted the notes, totalling £16,360, into bundles of £2,000, £1,000 and £500 stashes.

Sending him to a Young Offenders’ Institute for 12 months, Judge William George said the hard-working teenager had been exploited by more serious criminals, but had played an “important part” in distributing the cash.

The judge told O’Grady: “You got into trouble by gambling, you got involved in taking drugs and got involved with some quite heartless and ruthless people.”

Gary Lesin-Davies, defending, told the court O’Grady had left school with 10 GCSEs and had worked hard for the last 3½ years as a welder.

But he said O’Grady, who was from a good family, turned to gambling after the death of his grandparents and had quickly built up debts.

O’Grady, whose mother wept in the public gallery, was ordered to deliver the fake cash to pay £500 off his debt.

But Ian Davies, prosecuting, said O’Grady was caught when a member of the public reported they believed a woman was tied up in the back of his Audi A3 at 5.45pm on September 22, last year.

Officers arrived on Rowson Street, discovered O’Grady’s girlfriend in the back of the car, who was fine. They searched the car and discovered the toy stuffed with cash, as well as a small amount of cocaine.

O’Grady, of Waunfawr Road, Caernarfon, admitting possessing Class A drugs and counterfeit cash.