Police hunt suspected south-west drug dealers

They pair both failed to attend separate court hearings earlier this year.

wanted drug and firearms suspects
Author: Simon EnglishPublished 11th Nov 2021

Two suspected drug dealers are thought to be on the run in south-west England.

Christopher Barbosa, 29, from Sea Mills in Bristol is charged with conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine and money laundering.

Billy Foster, 33, from Oldland Common in Bristol (on the left of the above picture) has been charged with seven offences, including conspiracy to sell or transfer two handguns, conspiracy to supply cocaine, and money laundering.

They both failed to show up to separate court hearings earlier this year.

Avon and Somerset Police say Barbosa is described as a mixed race man, 6ft 2 inches tall, of medium build, with a black beard and moustache.

Foster is described as a white man, 5ft 10 inches tall, of medium build, with dark brown hair and possibly has a beard and moustache.

Both men were arrested as part of national Operation Venetic, a UK-wide operation following the takedown of the encrypted communications platform EncroChat.

The platform - which was linked with thousands of suspected criminal users - closed in June 2020. More than 1,000 arrests were made last year relating to the site.

Police are warning the public not to approach them but to call 999 instead.