DRUG DEALERS JAILED

A man and a woman have been jailed after concealing almost 40 deals of cocaine in a sock hidden in a car in Tamworth.

Ledgon Basha, aged 23, of Essex, and Cristina Stanciu, aged 25, of Birmingham, appeared at Stafford Crown Court on Friday (15 May), where they were jailed after each admitting possession with intent to supply class A drugs, cocaine.

Basha was jailed for a total of two years and three months, while Stanciu was handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence.

Basha was also convicted of driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance, for which he received a fine.

It comes as officers stopped a grey Jaguar in the Kettlebrook area at around 11.45am on 30 January.

A search revealed a total of 39 deals of cocaine, worth in the region of £2,000, concealed in the centre console of the car, within a sock.

Phones and cash were also seized.

Speaking following sentencing, Superintendent Victoria Downing, of our major and organised crime unit, said: “Basha and Stanciu were brazen in their operation to supply drugs in Tamworth in the middle of the day in January.

“I am pleased we were able to seize the drugs and hope that the pair’s sentences show how determined we are to disrupt the supply of illegal substances in Staffordshire.”