Carlton Adams, 28, was “in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong substance” his solicitor said.
Adams, of Alice Street, Chichester, South Shields, was found with a packet containing a mix of cocaine and amphetamine on Monday, September 20.
He was fined at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to possession of class A drugs.
Prosecutor Bushra Begum said: “Police carried out a pre-planned firearms operation at an address in South Tyneside.
“They had cause to speak to the defendant, and they searched him. They found white powder in a shirt pocket.”
Mrs Begum confirmed a test showed both class A cocaine and class B amphetamine mixed together, leading to a class A possession charge.
David Forrester, defending, said: “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong substance.”
District Judge Paul Currer fined Adams £120, with £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge and also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.