Colin Rawson was instructed to represent a client who was charged with possession with intent to supply controlled drugs.
The client was stopped by the police during lockdown walking down the street. The police searched the client and found 17 wraps of heroin in the coat pocket which he was wearing. The client immediately denied all knowledge of the drugs and directed the police to a property where he had just been.
The property belonged to a female. Her boyfriend was also present. The property was searched and a large quantity of drugs was recovered along with “tick lists”, money and mobile phones.
The defendant maintained throughout the proceedings that none of the drugs either on his person nor at the property were his. He stated that he had borrowed the coat that he was wearing when he was arrested from the address that he directed the police to.
The female was not charged with the offence. However, the boyfriend was. He sought to blame our client and provided a “defence statement” confirming that his position was that the drug dealing was being done by our client and not by himself (or his girlfriend).
It seemed unusual to Mr Rawson that the female had not been charged when the items found at her address pointed to her involvement in the offence. There appeared to be some relevant information that was not being disclosed. Numerous requests were made to the prosecution for the police to disclose details regarding the female at the property and why she was not charged.
On the day of trial, this information was still outstanding. After persisting with this point, prosecuting counsel eventually confirmed there was intelligence that the property was being used for some time to supply drugs. There was no evidence that our client was involved. As a result, the prosecution offered no evidence and the case against the client was dismissed. The boyfriend pleaded guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment.
If the client had been convicted of the offence he could have received a lengthy custodial sentence. Without the persistence in seeking to obtain information to corroborate the client’s account, he may well have been so convicted.
If you require assistance from our criminal defence department please contact us on 0161 696 6188 or complete an online enquiry form.