A BARRISTER told a judge his drug dealer client was selling cocaine to fund his ambition to become a personal trainer.

Navdeep Gill, of Fleet Way, Didcot, was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday by a judge in Oxford Crown Court.

The 22-year-old admitted possessing cocaine, a Class A drug, with intent to supply, and possessing cannabis, a Class B drug.

Prosecutor Naomi Perry said he was arrested after police spotted him and two friends in a car parked at a petrol station in Broadway, Didcot, on October 31 last year.

She said officers smelled cannabis inside the car and searched its occupants, finding 30g of cocaine in 18 wraps, after strip searching Gill at the station.

Defence barrister Rowan McCann told Judge Peter Ross his client had bought the drugs for £400 with about nine other people to sell at a party.

He said: “Mr Gill has accepted that he was hoping to make a profit from this.

“The money was going to be diverted into training as a personal trainer.”

Judge Ross sentenced Gill to three years in prison and told him to pay a £120 victims’ surcharge.

He said: “This court sees day in, day out, the awful consequences of the trade in Class A drugs.

“People who become addicted to them commit offences in our community.

“Drugs are like someone who throws a pebble in a pond, and those ripples spread throughout our community.

“People have their houses burgled, their shops stolen from, and sometimes people even attack others in the streets.

“Tragically drugs lead some young women to engage in prostitution.

“The drug trade is an evil one and those who engage in it need to understand its consequences.”

Our top stories

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.