Three sentenced to nearly five years for drugs offences
Sentences comes as part of police crackdown on Newbury dealers
THREE people have been sentenced to nearly five years in prison as a result of a police crackdown on London dealers flooding West Berkshire with drugs.
Ami Marie Oxley (pictured below), of Thatcham, Jonathan Pearson, from Newbury and Ryan Bailey from London were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday (July 31).
Oxley pleaded guilty on the first day of a trial on June 29 to two counts of possession with intent to supply heroin and one count of possession with intent to supply cocaine.
The 26-year-old was sentenced to 29 months’ imprisonment for the offence of possession with intent to supply heroin, 26 months’ imprisonment for the second count of possession with intent to supply heroin as well as 26 months’ imprisonment for the possession with intent to supply cocaine, all to run concurrently.
Oxley, of Rosemary Gardens, was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120.
Pearson, aged 24, of Hopwood Close, was found guilty of possession with intent to supply heroin and sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, for supply of heroin, and 24 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, to run concurrently, for supplying cocaine.
He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £100.
The third defendant 27-year-old Ryan Bailey (pictured below), of Cromwell Avenue in London, was found guilty of possession with intent to supply heroin in the same trial.
He was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge.
Orders were made under Section 27 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 for the forfeiture, destruction and disposal of all drugs and paraphernalia and the £335 seized on arrest.
Oxley and Pearson were initially arrested on April 10 when officers found numerous wraps of class A drugs after the pair were pulled over in Oxley's car.
Both were bailed but just six days later Oxley was pulled over again in the same vehicle this time with Ryan Bailey.
As a result of the stop police searched the homes of Oxley and Bailey and found multiple wraps of class A drugs hidden in the bin cupboard in Oxley's house together with other paraphernalia consistent with drug supply.
In Bailey’s home, police found items consistent with drug supply and Bailey’s fingerprints were identified on the wrappings around the drugs found in Oxley’s bin cupboard.
Bailey and Oxley were arrested and all three were charged on December 9, 2014.
Det Con Gareth Perry from Force CID based at Newbury police station said: “In April last year, Thames Valley Police ran Operation Fuse, a proactive operation that aimed to address the growing problem of London drug dealers travelling to West Berkshire to supply Class A drugs.
"The dealers were using local people to either act as street dealers or to use their homes as a base for their drug dealing operations.
“This case is an example of the strong work Thames Valley Police has done to combat this problem."
