Surrey drug dealers jailed after advertising cocaine and ketamine for sale
They sent phone messages advertising their drug deals
Three Surrey dealers have been jailed after they were caught advertising drug deals on their phones.
They were arrested in January in raids in Aldershot and Coulsdon after police tracked their mobiles.
In September 2023, Surrey Police investigators became suspicious of two particular phone numbers that repeatedly peddled cocaine and ketamine, upselling to their regulars with enticing deals.
Using cell site data, police tracked the phones on journeys up to the Midlands. Automatic number plate recognition cameras then helped officers link the phones to cars, in turn leading them to the names of three suspects.
Police officers conducted simultaneous warrants in early January 2024 on properties in Aldershot and Coulsdon.
In Aldershot, a man was spotted trying to escape from the second-floor flat’s back window, and officers bumped into a second man casually exiting the bathroom.
Drugs were located in the toilet bowl, as well as drugs paraphernalia, various mobile phones, two of which were found in the underwear of one of the males and a lengthy contact list of customers.
Much of the same incriminating evidence was found in Coulsdon, as well as knuckle dusters and a knife.
Three men were arrested, and all were sentenced at Guildford Crown Court:
• James Singh, 27, of Station Road, Coulsdon was sentenced to six years and three months in jail for sentenced for conspiracy to sell class A and class B drugs.
• Luke Gernon, 27, of Elm Road, New Malden was sentenced to four years and six months in jail for conspiracy to sell class A and class B drugs.
• Kalum Howard, 27, of Station Road, Coulsdon was sentenced to four years in jail for conspiracy to sell class A and class B drugs and possessing criminal property.
The court ordered all drugs, mobile phones, weapons and cash to be forfeited and the funds used for the benefit of Surrey Police.
A fourth man, Aidan Walker, 32 of Frimley Road, Chessington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell class A drugs on Thursday, 13 June 2024 at Guildford Crown Court. He will be sentenced on Monday, 21 October at Guildford Crown Court.
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