Ipswich drug dealer who provided fraudulent documents to police is jailed

Police found cocaine worth £15,000 in his home

Olkedi Lika
Author: Sian RochePublished 17th Oct 2024

A man from Ipswich has been jailed for drug dealing and providing fraudulent identification documents to police.

Olkedi Lika, 26, of Wherstead Road, was given a 31-month custodial sentence at Ipswich Crown Court earlier this week (Monday 14 October)

What happened?

Officers from Suffolk Constabulary’s South Sentinel team (which focuses on road issues) stopped a silver Nissan Qashqai on Franciscan Way in Ipswich on 31 August.

Lika introduced himself and used his mobile phone to produce an image of a driving licence with his name and photograph, however, officers suspected the licence was false and Lika was detained for a search.

Further investigations led police to evidence of involvement in the supply of Class A drugs.

Lika initially gave officers a false home address, but they then identified his address in Wherstead Road, Ipswich.

The property was searched and an approximate 0.5kilogram block of cocaine was found, with a street value of around £15,000.

Officers also found individual deals of cocaine, drug dealing paraphernalia and £6,871 in cash.

After being arrested and questioned for a number of offences, Lika was charged with possession with intent to supply (PWITS) cocaine, possession of criminal property, possession of an identification document with intent, driving without insurance and driving without a license and remanded in custody.

Lika pleaded guilty at court to all offences and was sentenced to 31 months’ imprisonment for PWITS cocaine with concurrent sentences of six months for both the criminal property and counterfeit document offences.

"This is a great result"

Rob Ostler, an investigator within the Sentinel South team, said: “In just over six weeks, with valuable assistance from a number of teams across the constabulary, a drug dealer was charged, remanded, convicted and sentenced, while half a kilogram of cocaine was removed from our streets along with £6,871 which was the proceeds of Lika’s criminal activity.

“This is a great result and further proof that the Sentinel Team is actively targeting those trying to profit from organised crime in the Ipswich area.”

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