Revealed: Face of Telford '£5k-a day' cocaine and ketamine dealer
Police have revealed the face of a Telford cocaine and ketamine dealer who claimed to make £5,000 a day.
Andrew Lane, of Laburnum Road in Telford, was sentenced to 44 months in prison at Shrewsbury Crown Court last week.
Lane, 30, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
Detective Sergeant Tim Atherton, from Telford’s proactive CID, welcomed the sentence.
He said: “We are pleased with the outcome in court, as this sentencing follows extensive work from the team, who are committed and determined to stop drug supply in Telford.
“We will always act upon intelligence, and will continue to disrupt, target and apprehend those who are involved dealing drugs. The upset these people bring to our community is immeasurable and we shall continue to bring anybody involved in drug activity to justice.
“We hope this sentence shows we will not tolerate drug dealing in our county and the harm it reaps upon our communities.”
During Lane's sentencing Shrewsbury Crown Court was told that police raided his property and found six iPhones and around £460 in cash at the address.
Mr Danny Smith, prosecuting, told the court that when officers called a known "drugs line", one of the phones belonging to Lane began ringing.
Mr Smith said that in an interview with police, Lane confessed to selling drugs.
He said: "He said he made £5,000 a time but said some days were better than others."
He added that border checks revealed that Lane had flown to Cancun in Mexico, Amsterdam and Istanbul in March this year ahead of his arrest.
But he added the prosecution had "no evidence" he was buying drugs from those trips, but added they showed the lifestyle Lane was enjoying from his drug dealing.
"He accepted he has a nice life, with nice things, paid for by drug dealing," said Mr Smith.
Sentencing Lane to 44 months in prison, Judge Anthony Lowe said: "Drugs are like poison. They destroy lives as much as taking a baseball bat and hitting them on the back of the head."
