Police ran up a £56,000 bill for keeping round the clock surveillance on two suspected drug dealers being held in custody while they waited for nature to take its course, a court has heard.
The two men, who were arrested in Ipswich, were believed to have “plugged” drugs in their back passages and because they refused to give consent for an intimate search police officers were forced to keep a round the clock watch on the men while they waited for them to pass the drugs, the town’s crown court was told.
Suffolk Constabulary has now confirmed officers had to wait nine days for one of the men, and 16 days for the other, to expel the drugs.
Nicola May, prosecuting, told the court that during their detention Joseph Aibamwen, 21, of no fixed address and Yves Ntuali-Ikolo, 17, of Lewisham declined offers of food and drink and at one stage Aibamwen was seen by a doctor when he became weak and started slurring his words.
“The police were very keen to offer drinks and food and these were declined by the defendants,” said Miss May.
She said the cost of the one-to-one surveillance amounted to £56,000. “That was the cost of one oficer to be continually retained in order for the police to wait for the inevitable passage of the drugs through the defendants’ systems,” she added.
She said eventually nature did run its course and both defendants passed what had been secreted inside them.
Aibamwen was found to have been carrying 99 wraps of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of between £990- £1,800 while Ntuali-Ikolo had a total of 50 wraps made up of 41 wraps of crack cocaine and nine of heroin.
Both the defendants admitted possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to suppply and Aibamwen was jailed for three years and Ntuali-Ikolo was sentenced to 12 months detention in a young offenders’ institution. Judge David Goodin declined to make an order banning the publication of Ntuali-Ikolo’s name as he will be 18 in May.
The court heard the men were arrested on November 23 during a police operation which was targeting large scale Class A drug dealing in Ipswich by people coming to the town from London and surrounding areas.
On the day in question two officers saw the defendants enter Bourne Park in Ipswich under a viaduct and walk along a grass track near a hedge.
At some stage the defendants realised they were being followed and Aibamwen was described as “waddling like a duck” as he attempted to run off, said Miss May.
The men were eventually arrested in the Wherstead Road area and taken into police custody.
Mobile phones found on the defendants were checked and were found to contain messages relating to drug dealing.
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