Drug dealer caught in Nuneaton jailed
A GARDEN-hopping drug dealer who had £10,000 worth of crack cocaine stashed in a SOCK has been jailed.
Gregory Anthony Ivey, from Coventry, was sentenced to five years in prison after a three-day trial at Warwick Crown Court.
Ivey, of Potlidgate Court, Bedworth, was caught by an infa-red camera on a police helicopter in Nuneaton.
It has been revealed that back on Tuesday, April 18, undercover detectives from the Offender Management Unit (OMU), were on patrol in an unmarked vehicle in Duke Street, Nuneaton and spotted a man they wanted.
After clocking the officers, the suspect ran along Duke Street, into traffic on Manor Court Road and into Manor Park Road where he then ran through gardens, hopping fences and climbing over outbuildings.
Detectives believed he was in possession of class A drugs and were determined to catch him so a containment was placed around the area with more officers from the OMU, along with uniformed officers assisting.
A Police helicopter flew over the contained area where a heat source was detected, deep in the undergrowth in back gardens on Manor Park Road. A police dog unit then sniffed out the man hiding in the undergrowth.
Detectives from OMU then retraced the man’s path and spent a considerable amount of time searching large gardens.
A black sock containing crack cocaine with a street value of £10,000 was discovered
The suspect was interviewed by Detectives from OMU and denied the offence.
On Wednesday, April 19 following consultation with CPS, Ivey was charged with possession with intent to supply crack cocaine.
Following a three day trial at Leamington Crown Court, Ivey was sentenced yesterday (Friday, October 6) to five years imprisonment.
A spokesperson for the OMU said that they welcomed the sentencing of Ivey who was pivotal in the supply of class A drugs in Nuneaton & Bedworth as well as the wider region.
“We would also like to thank the public who assisted us on the day of the arrest, particularly those members of the public that allowed us into their gardens to search for Ivey and the subsequent searches following his arrest,” said the spokesman.
“We hope that this arrest and conviction demonstrates that drug dealing will not be tolerated in Warwickshire and we are committed to locking up those that make substantial profit by illicit means and pray on the vulnerable.”