Three men have been jailed for a total of more than 20 years after being convicted of possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply a network of areas including Thanet.
Nathanael Murray, Jerome Martin and Trey Douglas Ranger were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday 5 September by Judge James O’Mahoney.
Murray, 27, of Cressingham Road, Lewisham, pleaded not guilty to possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply. He was found guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Martin, 25, St Augustine’s Avenue, South Croydon, pleaded not guilty to possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply. He was found guilty and was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison.
Ranger,24, of Vesta Road, Crofton Park, Brockley, London, was charged with possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and possessing cannabis. He initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea halfway through the week-long trial. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Vehicle search
The three men were in a Vauxhall Astra hire car which was stopped by police on the Thanet Way near Brenley Corner on the evening of 13 November 2015.
Martin was driving the vehicle, which had been hired by Murray, who was the front seat passenger. Ranger and another man, who was later released without charge, were in the back seat.
Officers searched the vehicle and found around £8,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine in a carrier bag in the back of the car. Ranger had wraps of cannabis and heroin in his pocket.
Police also seized a quantity of cash and a number of mobile phones, some of which had messages relating to the supply of drugs on them.
Thanet locations
The car’s sat nav had a number of locations in Thanet plugged into its system and mobile phone analysis showed that some of the phones had been active in Thanet earlier that day.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Sarah Phillips paid tribute to the Divisional Support Unit officers who stopped the Vauxhall Astra on the Thanet Way.
She said: “Their keen eye and proactive stop check helped take thousands of pounds worth of Class A drugs off Kent’s streets.
‘Thanks to their actions three people intent on supplying hard drugs to vulnerable users are now behind bars and our towns are safer because of it.”