Undercover cops bust cocaine dealing at Colchester pub
The pub says it intends to appeal the removal of its license
A Colchester pub which police described as the”heart of a large-scale cocaine business” has had its license to sell alcohol revoked.
Drug dealers unwittingly sold cocaine to undercover police officers at The Leather Bottle in Colchester, who had been deployed there to disrupt the supply of Class A drugs.
According to an Essex Police report, cocaine was used in plain sight and officers deployed to the pub between June and November last year bought drugs from the suspects several times.
In the report, submitted to Colchester Borough Council ahead of a licensing meeting earlier this week (January 5), police described the pub as “arguably the heart of a large-scale cocaine supply business”.
The solicitor representing the license holders, named as Mr O’Toole of John Fowler Solicitors at the meeting, denied staff were involved in illegal activities.
A section of the report read: “The drug dealing was widespread (it took place on each occasion the premises were visited) and conducted in the open.”
One account of a deal in the report read: “During the evening, one subject of the investigation, whilst playing pool, requested that the operative followed him to the toilet.
“Once within the cubicle the subject of the investigation took out a plastic bag containing white powder and offered the operative a line of cocaine saying words to the effect of “I just want to offer you a line of coke. You’re not police are you?”
Officers also witnessed a fight between eight men using weapons in early July, which escalated into three of the men driving at people in the car park.
Later that month, an undercover officer had a conversation with a man who claimed some men had handguns in the waist bands of their trousers in anticipation of more trouble, the report continues.
An objection to the police’s application for a summary review by Mr O’Toole was read out by council officers at the meeting.
He said: “Our clients maintain that natural justice has not been applied in this case, as a pre-emptiary decision was made without any attempts to liaise or engage before the drastic decision was made to suspend the license with our clients.
“Our client is prepared to implement any new conditions that the committee thinks suitable and categorically rejects that any members of staff or the license holders were involved in any illegal activities, such as allowing others to drug deal or commit any acts of violence either on or off the premises.”
He also said in the statement his clients intended to appeal if the license was revoked.
However, the committee decided other options , such as modifying the license conditions or removing the premises supervisor, would have been insufficient to prevent crime and disorder.
Chairing the meeting, Councillor Roger Buston (Con, Prettygate) said: “The sub-committee considered that the supplementary information that had been provided by Essex Police contained overwhelming evidence suggesting that extremely serious criminal activity had been associated with the premises and the sub-committee took the view that the licence holder had either been aware of these activities that were referenced or should have been aware of them.”
He also said there had been a “cavalier” attitude to Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time.
The pub had its license suspended in early December, pending this morning’s hearing.
The license holder is listed as Quirebuild Limited in the report.