14 DAY TRIAL // A group of aspiring drug dealers from West Midlands have been jailed after police discovered photos of them posing with bags of cannabis, handfuls of cash and bundles of notes stuffed into their pants.
Eugene May-Dyer, Russell Turner, Ian Cunningham and Grant Barnhurst were arrested in February last year when local authorities conducted a series of simultaneous raids in the Kings Norton area, according to Daily Mail.
Almost £1,000 ($1,680/€1,216) of cannabis, dealer bags and digital scales were seized during the raid. Officers also found phones containing text conversations between the group in which they were talking about drugs supply and deals.
Moreover, investigators found a series of compromising photos of the boastful dealers. In one of the pictures, 18-year-old Turner, from Green Acres, is showing off with lots of cash in his hands and additional notes stuffed into the waistband of his trousers.
In another picture, Turner appears next to 24-year-old May-Dyer, from Halladale. They can be seen examining dried cannabis leaves scattered across the floor.
All four of them admitted conspiracy to supply Class B drugs at Birmingham Crown Court this week.
The aforementioned newspaper reveals that police discovered the gang's cannabis “den” in November 2012, when a car being driven away from Turner’s home was stopped in traffic, and officers found drugs inside the vehicle.
A further search at the suspect's home revealed a stash of 1.3kg (2.86 pounds) of cannabis, and investigators found fingerprints belonging to May-Dyer and Cunningham on the drugs bags. A BlackBerry phone found in the shed contained over 60,000 messages which gave officers information about their illegal activities.
“We managed to intercept them at an early stage before their criminality could escalate and potentially cause more damage in the Kings Norton community,” Detective Chief Inspector Andy Bannister, head of West Midlands Police's Gang Taskforce, said.
“Our communities repeatedly tell us that taking action against drug dealing in communities is a priority for them and urge us to take action. That’s what we’ve done and four young men who cockily posed for photos boasting of their drug dealing are now paying the price.”
In a court appearance yesterday, Russell Turner was sentenced to 13 months in jail, including an additional month for breaching an earlier suspended sentence. Meanwhile, his accomplices were also handed jail sentences. May-Dyer was jailed for 12 months, while Cunningham, 24, and 21-year-old Barnhurst were both sentenced to nine months in prison.