Basingstoke drug dealers jailed
Both also guilty of possessing knives and a machete
Two Basingstoke drug dealers have been jailed for a total of five years and 11 months – after officers caught one of them when they got a takeaway from Nando’s.
Harry Newey, 20, from Branton Close, Basingstoke, and Emmanuel Kolapo-Ogundele, 20, of no fixed abode, appeared at Winchester Crown Court on Monday 6 November.
Newey was jailed for three years and three months after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of a drug of Class A including cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin, being concerned in the supply of a drug of Class B – cannabis, possession of a Class B drug and possession of a bladed article x 2.
Kolapo-Ogundele was jailed for two years and eight months after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of a drug of Class A, including heroin and crack cocaine, being concerned in the supply of a drug of Class B - cannabis, possession of a Class B drug, possession of a bladed article x 2 and possession of criminal property.
How a discarded Nandos helped catch one of the offenders
On 29 December 2022, officers were on patrol in Basingstoke when they noticed a silver Audi A3 driving at excessive speed along Pack Lane.
The vehicle they were following crashed into another car on Colyer Close and the driver fled the scene on foot.
Officers went over to the Audi and found a pot which contained 22 small plastic bags of cocaine, worth a street value of £1,100.
They also found a bag which contained hot Nando’s food – a hot chicken burger, three wings, peri chips and a Fanta. Following a search, the driver of the Audi was not located.
Officers, attempting to locate the man, then attended the nearby Nando’s restaurant on St Michael’s Retail Park. They reviewed CCTV images and noted a man matching the description of the Audi driver.
Officers requested the receipt of his £16.90 order – which was exactly the same as the food and drink found in the vehicle.
Following an investigation, the driver of the Audi, who had purchased the takeaway, was identified as Newey.
On 29 March 2023, Newey was arrested by officers on Roentgen Road. A large combat knife and lock knife were found following a search of Newey.
Cocaine and cannabis were also found, while further drugs were located following a search of his home.
He was later charged with drugs and knife offences.
Meanwhile, on 17 March 2023, officers were patrolling the Oakridge area of Basingstoke when they spotted Kolapo-Ogundele riding a bike.
He began to cycle away at speed before he ran into a nearby wooded area and threw a rucksack onto the ground.
Officers eventually caught up with him and detained him. He had a knife protruding from his waistband.
Suspected Class A and B drugs worth more than £1,000 were found inside the rucksack that he had dropped during the chase.
On 22 March 2023, officers have found suspected Class A and Class B drugs worth £1,465, a large amount of cash, phones and drug paraphernalia at an address on Penny Black Lane, Basingstoke, which was linked to Newey and Kolapo-Ogundele.
On 29 March 2023, officers arrested Kolapo-Ogundele and Newey on Roentgen Road in Basingstoke.
Officers found more than £1,000 in cash, cannabis, phones and a machete on Kolapo-Ogundele.
Later that day, officers found suspected Class A and Class B drugs worth up to £8,200, a large amount of cash, phones and drugs paraphernalia at an address on Guernsey Close, Basingstoke.
Kolapo-Ogundele was later charged with drugs and knife offences.
The pair were jailed for a total of five years and 11 months years at Winchester Crown Court on Monday 6 November.
Police Staff Investigator Mike Longmore, from the Northern Area Crime Team, led the investigation and said:
“I hope this sentencing highlights that officers will do everything in their power to ensure Basingstoke is not targeted by violent drugs networks.
“I want this to send a clear message to those involved in drugs supply that we do not tolerate any form of drugs supply or the associated criminal exploitation and drug-relate harm that comes with it.
“We know that drug supply causes harm and misery to our communities and is linked to acquisitive crime such as burglary, shoplifting and theft, as well as some of the most serious violence we see.
“We will continue targeting drug-related harm, keeping the pressure on those known locally who are involved in this kind of activity.
“We want you to know that we will relentlessly pursue criminals so that their lives, not those of local people, are a misery.”