WhatsApp used to distribute large quantity of class A drugs
Police discovered 2,000 messages on WhatApp group
A man from Chiswick has been jailed for three years for his role in an illegal drugs marketplace distributing to students at Bristol and Bath Universities.
26-year-old Jonathan Burke of Mayfield Avenue was one of nine offenders sentenced at Bristol Crown Court this week for his role in an operation that used WhatsApp to take orders.
The convictions market the end of a three year operation which starting in November 2017 when police intercepted a parcel containing a large quantity of class A drugs addressed to a resident of student accommodation in Bath.
On searching the address drugs paraphernalia was found and the examination of a smartphone led to the discovery of a WhatsApp group containing nearly two thousand messages most of which related to the supply of drugs.
In the resulting investigation 26 people were interviewed with ten people ultimately being charged, one of whom was found not guilty.
Burke received the second longest sentence of those convicted,
Investigating officer PC Patrick Gormley said, “These individuals had a life of opportunity ahead of them and instead chose to squander their university education by engaging in drug criminality and putting others’ lives at risk.
“The fact that several of the offenders received custodial sentences sends a clear message that, regardless of social standing or previous good character, serious drug crime will not be tolerated within any community.”
Richard Posner, Senior Crown Advocate of the CPS South West added, “What is clear from this police investigation is that the use of social media platforms such as WhatsApp as a managed market place to buy and sell drugs has become a depressing reality for a small but significant element of an otherwise hard working and aspirational student population.
“The sellers collaborated with each other to sell drugs and referrals were common. Advertising, incentives, raffles and loyalty rewards were used to boost sales.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
February 14, 2021
