Jail for Oxfordshire drug dealer who led police on chase

The reason for Mitsubishi Shogun driver Thomas Lee’s decision to make off from the officers near Wallingford in April was revealed when he was arrested and his bag searched.

He had a party bag of drugs, including a cocaine-based substance known as ‘pink champagne’, MDMA pills worth more than £600 and 160g of class B drug ketamine worth an estimated £4,680.

Jailing him for three years and four months at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (June 16), Recorder Stephen Smith said: “The trade in drugs blights communities.

"It undermines the sense that people have of safety in their own neighbourhoods. It leads to people loitering around, anti-social behaviour and the potential for violence to flare up, as it so often does.”

Earlier, prosecutor Richard Jones said police tried to pull the SUV over between Wallingford and Reading at around 1pm on April 16.

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“They asked him to stop; initially it looked as if he was stopping – and then accelerated away,” the prosecutor said.

The five minute chase saw Lee swerve in front of a Nissan Micra then take his 4x4 cross-country in a cunning plan to outmanoeuvre the marked police car.

It could have worked. The officers were unable to follow across fields but, realising where his shortcut would emerge, spun their car around and met him as he got back onto the public highway.

Lee’s attempt to make a second cut cross-country proved less successful. He crashed the car then fled on foot.

He was caught, searched and found to be in possession of the thousands of pounds’ worth of class A and B drugs and a small knife.

When officers went to his home, they found amphetamine and diazepam in quantities pointing to it being for personal use.

Lee, who was remanded into custody by the magistrates in April, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine, MDMA and ketamine, possession of amphetamine and diazepam, possession of a bladed article, dangerous driving and driving without a licence.

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The judge praised the quick-thinking police officers for realising where Lee’s cross-country cut through would lead.

He banned Lee for 12 months for the dangerous driving, with the ban extended to cover the period he is expected to spend in custody. The Shogun driver will have to pass an extended retest before he can regain his licence.

Mitigating, Julian Lynch likened his client’s drug dealing enterprise to a ‘one man band’.

“Mr Lee is not a very sophisticated offender, really. He has made it to 26 without a significant criminal past without, indeed, ever having been in custody and then finds himself before this court for what are really rather serious matters,” he said.

“He has got into drug dealing through the gateway of his own drug use, but he doesn’t advance that particularly as an excuse.”

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He had been ‘frank’ with the probation officer who had authored the pre-sentence report, telling them that he ‘found that he could purchase drugs for himself in bulk for reduced cost and he realised, because he could do that, he could also resell them.”

Mr Lynch said: “He has worked since he left school without qualifications in his GCSE year. His father told him to get work and he got it in the building trade.”

Investigating officer, detective constable Shahed Ali said: “Thomas Lee put members of public in danger by driving dangerously in order to avoid being caught dealing drugs.

“Our communities are significantly impacted by drug dealing and via our Stronghold project, which fights serious and organised crime, Thames Valley Police will pursue and prosecute drug dealers.

“We will continue to make the Thames Valley a hostile place for drugs dealers to carry out their criminal activities.

“We need the public to be our additional eyes and ears in their communities, so if you suspect of criminal activity in your community please report it via our website, by calling 101 or you can visit a police station.”