We represented a young person who faced serious allegations involving the supply of Class A and Class B drugs. At the time of the alleged offences, our client was just 16 and 17 years old.
The Allegations
Our client was charged with four offences of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. They also faced three offences of possession with intent to supply Class B drugs.
On two separate occasions, our client was found by the police in areas to which they had no known links. They were in possession of significant quantities of Class A and Class B drugs as well as a large amount of cash.
NRM Referral
In light of the circumstances of our client's arrests, we had concerns that our client was a victim of child criminal exploitation. At our request, our client was referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) by the local authority.
Shortly after the referral was made, we received a positive reasonable grounds decision which confirmed that there were credible indicators of trafficking. We later received a positive conclusive grounds decision.
Challenging the Prosecution
Following receipt of the conclusive grounds decision, we submitted detailed written representations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). We argued that in accordance with their own guidance, they should not proceed with the prosecution of our client. After considering our representations, the Crown Prosecution Service decided to discontinue all seven charges against our client.
Our client was represented throughout the proceedings by Sabrina Neves, a solicitor in our specialist Youth Crime Team.
