A judge tore into Serco for failing to bring a convicted drug dealer to court.

Josh Alexander, 32, was jailed for six years in 2021 for peddling class A drugs. He was due before Oxford Crown Court on Friday for a judge to agree a proceeds of crime confiscation order, which it is anticipated will see £730 cash by detectives permanently handed over to the authorities.

The hearing has already had to be put off once as the defendant, who is at HMP Guy’s Marsh, near Shaftesbury, was not brought to court.

READ MORE: Bitcoin decimal point blunder

The case had to be put off a second time on Friday after Serco, the private company with the contract for bringing prisoners to court claimed not to have a van available to do the job.

Barely containing her frustration at the organisation, Judge Maria Lamb told prosecutor Julian Lynch and Alexander’s barrister Adam Williams: “It seems to me this is an extraordinary position, [for] those who are tasked with this very job of people being brought to court simply to say there isn’t enough transport.”

She added: “Even if he were to be put in a taxi at vast cost no doubt to the public purse it is doubtful he would be here very much before the end of the close of proceedings today.

“It is a pretty unsatisfactory position. I shall be requiring a written explanation why it is he isn’t produced before this court today.”

Alexander’s presence at the court hearing is required as he is needed to agree to forfeit the £730 cash to the authorities.

Judge Lamb reluctantly adjourned the case until Wednesday, May 4. She made it clear that the defendant was to be brought to court in person for that hearing.

Previously, the court has heard how the authorities were initially chasing the drug dealer for what they thought was up to £80,000-worth of cryptocurrency Bitcoin. It emerged that the figure had been misread, with the decimal point put in the wrong place, and instead of 2.35 Bitcoin he in fact owned 0.000235 Bitcoin.

Alexander was previously of Queen Street Mews, Henley.

Sarah Burnett, Serco Operations Director, said: “Serco is very sorry that this prisoner was not brought to appear at Oxford Crown Court.  Normally, we bring prisoners to the Court from nearby HMP Bullingdon, but unusually in this case a move was requested at very short notice from another prison 90 miles away and as a result we were unable to meet this requirement.”  

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