Three men have been sentenced after more than £30,000 worth of cocaine was found in the vehicle they were driving in Swindon.
Sadeq Ali, aged 32, of Dowling Street, Swindon, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years imprisonment after pleading guilty to three counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Henry Waigo, aged 34, of no fixed abode, Swindon, was also in the vehicle at the time and was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment after he was convicted by a trial. Further enquiries later linked the pair to Peter Mascarenhas, aged 31, of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, and he was also sentenced to six-and-a-half years imprisonment for his part in the gang following a trial.
On 8 July 2015, officers stopped a silver Ford Focus on the Great Western Way in Swindon, with Waigo and Ali inside. A search was conducted which found 10 ounces of high purity cocaine.
On 10 August 2015, Ali was stopped in a vehicle in Chippenham and found to be in possession of 21 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin.
Then on 21 January 2016, Mascarenhas was arrested following DNA tests on the packaging from the cocaine located on the initial search on 8 July 2015. A search of his home address at the time, in Essex, found £2,720 cash.
PC Emma Rice, of the North Dedicated Crime Team, said: “Through extensive enquiries we were able to capture evidence of the gang operating in the Swindon and Bristol areas, making journeys to and from a number of addresses selling class A drugs in our communities. Drug dealing is not a victimless crime and we will do all we that we can to ensure people like Ali, Waigo and Mascarenhas are brought to justice.
“I am really pleased that we have been able to intercept this operation and I am satisfied with the sentences handed out – I hope it sends a clear message to those intent on getting involved in drugs that we will track you down and ensure you are put before the courts.”
