Dealer with stun gun planned cocaine order worth almost £200,000

A drug dealer has been jailed for almost five years after a stun gun, cocaine and a haul of cash was discovered at a property in West Kingsdown.

Lewis Taylor was described by a judge as being ‘in the upper echelon of a significant role’, which was connected to a criminal network with links to other parts of the country.

Taylor’s supply chain was uncovered during an unrelated investigation into assault allegations, which on 18 December 2021 led to him being tracked by police to an address near Crowhurst Lane, West Kingsdown.

A search of the property led to the seizure of 23 grams of cocaine, quantities of cutting agents and more than £7,500 in cash.

A Taser-like device was discovered in a wardrobe.

Significant scale

Taylor, of Regent Street, Whitstable was arrested and his phone was downloaded for examination. This revealed he was supplying drugs on a significant scale, mainly in parts of east Kent.

Evidence also indicated Taylor had been organising the purchase of £185,000 of cocaine from a contact in northern England.

At Maidstone Crown Court, the 33-year-old pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply and with possessing a prohibited weapon.

The court heard he had previous convictions related to the supply of Class A drugs and on 27 May 2022, he was sentenced to four years and ten months’ imprisonment.

Taylor will now also be subject to a financial investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to claw back any criminal gains resulting from his offending.

Threat to safety

Leading the investigation was Detective Constable James Coomber who said: ‘The search of the address where Taylor was located provided us with a wealth of evidence which proved beyond any doubt his role in dealing drugs on a substantial scale. 'The fact we also uncovered a dangerous weapon in the property clearly showed Taylor posed a significant threat to public safety and this is reflected in the sentence passed by the courts.’