Pair of Peterborough drug dealers jailed after officers found cocaine worth £37,000 hidden under bridge

Peter Depaolo, 40, and Richard Price, 37, left drugs in a Tupperware container under a hump-back bridge in Main Road, Etton, near Peterborough.

They covered it with foliage and logs but it wasn’t enough to hide it from officers who discovered it as part of an ongoing operation on 25 May.

Officers kept an eye on the location and two days later Depaolo and Price arrived in separate cars. Depaolo put on black gloves and headed over to the spot where the drugs had been found, while Price sat on the wall of the bridge and watched.

After a few minutes of searching, the men looked at each other and started to walk away before police swooped and arrested them on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Depaolo, of Bridgehill Road, Newborough, and Price, of no known address, both pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply class A drugs. Depaolo also admitted an additional charge of driving while disqualified.

Both men were sentenced to six years in prison at Peterborough Crown Court last week (11 August). Depaolo was also banned from driving for 12 months.

Detective Inspector Michael Birch, who investigated, said: “This was a fantastic job where we were able to intercept tens of thousands of pounds of drugs before they made it onto the streets, much to the annoyance of Depaolo and Price.

“Drugs and associated crime have no place in our county. We’ll continue to target those responsible and put them before the courts.”