Chatteris dealer jailed after £43,000 of drugs found in his car

A Chatteris man who was caught with more than £43,000 of drugs in his car has been jailed for more than three years.

Alan Desmond, (50), was suspected of drug dealing across Cambridgeshire and on 20 July 2020, his Volkswagen EOS was stopped in Huntingdon and found to contain more than £43,000 of spice – a class B new psychoactive substance (NPS).

Desmond was arrested and a search of his home in Chapel Lane uncovered £550 of cocaine, £380 of heroin, a small amount of ketamine, various “cutting” agents and other drugs paraphernalia and “burner” phones.

He was released under investigation but arrested again on 26 October last year following a serious collision on the A142 at Chatteris.

Desmond was driving a white BMW M4, which he abandoned at an associate’s home, and then lied to police about what happened.

He was released under investigation while further enquiries were carried out, however less than a week later on 2 November, police stopped a Ford Focus being driven by Desmond in Warboys, with his son in the passenger seat.

A package containing about 250g of cocaine was found in his jacket pocket and a large amount of cash in his wallet.

Desmond was arrested and said to officers, “You’ve got me, I’ve just done my pick-up – you win some, you lose some, was you expecting to find that much?”

He was later charged with possession with intent to supply a class A drug (cocaine), possession with intent to supply a class B drug (spice), two counts of possession of a class A drug (cocaine and heroin), possession of a class B drug (ketamine), dangerous driving, failing to stop when required to do so by police and perverting the course of justice by making a false report of robbery.

Desmond admitted all charges and was jailed for three years and four months, as well as being disqualified from driving for two years and eight months.

Detective Constable Suzanne Pickard, who investigated, said: “Desmond played a pivotal role in the supply of drugs in the Chatteris area over a prolonged period of time and his conviction should send a message to him and others that it will not be tolerated.”