We represented a client who had been charged with offences of possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs and possession of a criminal property. Our client was stopped in a vehicle by the police and found to be in possession of a large quantity of drugs as well as cash. During the course of a s.18 search at our client’s home address, further cash and scales were recovered. In his police station interview, our client accepted that he had the drugs in his possession however, denied that he had any intention to supply the drugs to anyone else. He also confirmed that the money found in his possession was not criminal property but in fact money that he had obtained through an entirely legitimate source.
We worked with our client to obtain evidence which supported his account and made repeated representations to the Crown Prosecution Service in which we invited them to accept pleas to simple possession of class A and B drugs. However, the Crown Prosecution Service maintained that they would be proceeding with the case against our client.
At the start of our client’s trial, he pleaded guilty to simple possession of class A & B drugs and the trial proceeded in relation to the remaining counts.
After almost three years on bail, our client was unanimously acquitted by the jury on all counts in just under 2 hours. He was sentenced to a conditional discharge for the offences of simple possession of class A and B drugs.
Our client was represented by Sabrina Neves, a solicitor in our Croydon Crime Team and in Court by Elena Papamichael, Counsel from Garden Court Chambers.
