A man has been sentenced to jail after he carelessly stamped his own name on his drugs.
Stephen Best, who previously pleaded guilty to the charges of possessing cannabis and possession with intent to supply drugs, was awarded prison time by Brighton Crown Court.
The 30-year-old was arrested for possessing cannabis, cannabis resin, cocaine, and MDMA.
Taking to their Facebook page, Sussex Police shared a photo of Stephen and quipped: “This is Stephen. Stephen had a storage unit full of drugs.
“Stephen stamped his name onto his drugs. Stephen was wanted and handed himself in to police.
“Stephen expected to be imprisoned and took a bag. Stephen packed drugs to take to prison. Stephen didn’t think we’d search his bag.
“Don’t be like Stephen and deal drugs.”
It all started when Trading Standards conducted a search of storage lockups in Worthing and found a ‘substantial amount’ of drugs in Stephen’s storage unit.
When the police were alerted and the cops arrived at the scene, Stephen managed to run away in his car, speeding through a red light to make his escape possible.
The Prevention Enforcement team also learned that Stephen owned a yacht at Brighton Marina.
When they searched the boat and storage unit, they happened to see Stephen’s last name printed on some of the drug packets.
Stephen handed himself over to the cops. He also had a bag with him which he said he had brought in case he was taken in remand.
But when the bag was searched, the officers found it to be filled with cannabis. Stephen was taken into custody and was later sentenced to 42 months in prison.
The case was called ‘unique’ for several reasons by the investigating officer, Detective Constable Noel Simmonds.
Noel said: “The quantity of drugs was considerable and while it is not unusual for drug dealers to set up brands of drugs, I’ve never seen someone stamp their own name into them.
“It’s quite rare as well for someone to arrange the date, time and location of their arrest and still turn up in possession of illegal drugs.
“As well as the physical and mental harm caused by illegal drugs, they are a contributing factor to violent crime and Sussex Police will continue to target those trading in them as part of our strategy to make Sussex safer for everyone.
“We hope this sends out a strong warning to those that would deal misery on our streets, and it encourages people in our communities to step forward and talk to the police.”
West Sussex Trading Standards Team Manager Richard Sargeant said: “Our sniffer dog operation led to this discovery of drugs and I am pleased that by working in partnership with Sussex Police, this individual was brought to justice.”
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