Newmarket - Man jailed for drug supply and driving offences

A man from Cambridge has been jailed for almost three years after admitting drug supply, driving and fraud offences.

On Thursday 2 May at approximately 2pm, officers from the Sentinel Team had cause to stop a Toyota Prius vehicle on Grunty Fen Road, Witchford, Ely, which had first been sighted in Suffolk. The car was suspected to have been involved in the supply of drugs in both Newmarket and Cambridgeshire.

The driver - a 20-year-old man - ran from police, but was detained after a short chase on foot.

Officers searched the vehicle and recovered 12 press seal bags of cocaine and £1160 in cash, which were found hidden in a coffee cup. They also found a sock underneath the front bonnet of the car which contained a further six press seal bags of cocaine.

The driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possession with intent to supply (PWITS) Class A drugs and taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

Police also recovered a fraudulent driving licence and a quantity of cash from the suspect’s home address.  

Denis Sylaj, 20, of Arbury Road, Cambridge, was subsequently charged with PWITS Class A drugs (cocaine), driving a vehicle without third party insurance, driving otherwise than accordance with a licence and possession of a fraudulent driving licence.

Sylaj appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Monday 9 September. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to a total of 32 months’ imprisonment, disqualified from driving for 22 months, and forfeited £2,380 in cash and a mobile iPhone.

The arrest and investigation was led by the Sentinel West team. The three Sentinel teams across the South, West and Eastern areas of the county provide enhanced coverage of Suffolk’s road network to proactively disrupt serious and organised criminal activity as well as increase police visibility.

The mobile unit disrupts criminals and protects communities across Suffolk’s road network using a variety of techniques to deal with offenders involved.

If you suspect drug activity report this via the website www.suffolk.police.uk/contact-us/report-something/report-crime, call 101, or alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers to report anonymously – either online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111.