Drugs gang knocked down police officer in bid to escape arrest

A POLICE officer was knocked down as a drugs gang tried to evade arrest on the A45 in Coventry.

Officers tried to stop a VW Golf and a Ford Transit on the dual carriageway as part of an intelligenceled operation.

The car was successfully brought to a halt, but the van sped off, knocking a police officer to the floor in the process. A total of £15,000 in cash was seized from the car and cannabis with a street value of £40,000 was recovered after it had been discarded from the van during the incident in November 2015.

Three of the four men were sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on November 22.

Billy Steal, also known as Lee Richard Clarke, 44, of Carpenter Path, Brentwood, Essex, was sentenced to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs,

Paul Anthony Dowman, 36, of Dandies Close, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, was jailed for three years having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs and dangerous driving,

Levi Williams, 27, of Grafton Street, Lower Stoke, Coventry, was Clockwise from top left, Paul Dowman, Billy Steal, Levi Williams and Luke Clarke sentenced to 16 months in prison having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs.

Luke Daniel Clarke, 22, of The Spires, Nuneaton, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, and possession of crack cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply in connection with a different incident in May 2016. He failed to appear at court for sentencing and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Anyone with information that can help police locate Clarke can call Warwickshire Police on 101.

Lead investigator Detective Sergeant Richard Brown, from Warwickshire Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: “This was an intelligence led operation that has led to a dangerous drugs gang being taken off the streets and the public being protected from the harm caused by the trade in illegal substances.”