An Ipswich dad has been jailed for seven years for being involved in the sale of cannabis and cocaine after police discovered £14,000 in cash at his home.

Alper Basoglu, 26, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday.

Basoglu, who is from the Ipswich area but currently serving time at HMP Norwich, had pleaded guilty to seven drug-related counts in total.

These included being involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, possession of cocaine and the class C drug clonazepam, attempting to import herbal cannabis and possession of criminal property.

The prosecution explained in January of 2022, officers seized the phone of a known class A user during an unrelated investigation, which revealed a Telegram application showing correspondence between the user and someone known as ‘Alps’, who the defendant accepts was him.

Ipswich Star: Basoglu was jailed for more than seven yearsBasoglu was jailed for more than seven years (Image: Suffolk police)

The following September, UK Border Force intercepted a parcel from a Los Angeles address to Basoglu’s Ipswich home, which contained 1.06kgs of herbal cannabis.

Police obtained a warrant to search Basoglu’s home, and attended his address on September 19.

Inside, they discovered £14,180 in cash, 136.9g of cannabis, 4.64g of cocaine, 460 intact clonazepam tablets and drug paraphernalia, a machete and a BB gun.

Searches of Basoglu’s phone showed messaged exchanged between himself and customers, including one advertising a “kilo brick” which a drugs expert confirmed refers to a 1kg block of cocaine.

In sentencing Basoglu, Judge Martyn Levett said that it was important to impose custodial sentences on those concerned in the supply of drugs to act as a deterrent to dealers.

“No one in this county, Essex or anywhere else in the East Anglian region can be ignorant as to the drug lines that are running in and out of the area on a commercial scale,” he said.

He added that the link between cocaine and domestic violence could not be understated, nor could the devastating effects the drug has on the lives of families.

Judge Levett handed Basoglu a sentence of 10 years, which he reduced to nine in light of the positive reference submitted by prison workers on his behalf.

This sentence was further reduced to seven years and two months in light of Basoglu’s guilty pleas.