There are a number of drug offences ranging from simple possession of drugs, through to the most serious of suppling or conspiracy to supply to others. SMART Criminal Defence has an unparalleled record of representing clients accused of being involved in drug offences.
What is meant by being in possession of a drug?
The offence of possession of a controlled drug is committed when a person is unlawfully in physical possession of a controlled drug. It follows that if you were not aware of something being, for example, in the pocket of a jacket you borrowed, it cannot be said to be in your possession. Also, it may be the case that you are, in law, in possession of a controlled drug, but you may have defence under S.28 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. A defence under this section can be intricate, sometimes involving a technical legal argument, and for this reason it is important that you obtain legal advice as soon as possible. Please feel free to <contact us> for us some guidance about this at any time.
What is meant by supply?
At its most basic, supplying means giving or passing drugs to another. In law, it is not necessary to show there was any exchange of money or other reward for that drug. For example, if two people were sharing a “joint”, each would be guilty of supplying to the other each time that joint was passed. Equally holding drugs and returning them to the original supplier would also be deemed supply.
What is meant by conspiracy in respect of supplying drugs?
In this instance, the law states that a conspiracy occurs when two or more people agree to be involved in the unlawful supply of drugs. Typically, a drugs conspiracy will involve a supply chain from the runners and low-level street dealers at the bottom, all the way up to the ringleaders orchestrating the operation at the top.
County Lines
Many cases of conspiracy to supply drugs are part of “County Lines” operations which the National Crime Agency (NCA) defines as an operation “where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries (although not exclusively), usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs. The ‘County Line’ is the mobile phone line used to take the orders of drugs.”
Possible elements of investigation/evidence in drug offences
Investigations and cases involving the supply of drugs are complex and multifaceted and as such there will be numerous lines of enquiry being conducted by the police at the same time. Typically, this will include:
Mobile phones – phone attribution
This is where any phones suspected of being involved in the alleged offences would have their activity reviewed to try and establish to whom they belong. The Police will routinely use the following methods to accurately identify a phone and link that number to an individual:
Provider details – Details held by the mobile network provider as to the owner of the mobile phone/SIM card.
Call data and logs – Details of what numbers a mobile phone has called, when and how often.
Texts/SMS logs – Details of what numbers a mobile phone has text, when, how many times and the content of the messages.
Phone data logs – Details and to when and where a mobile phone has connected to the internet via the mobile network provider or WiFi, what has been searched for and/or downloaded.
Cell Site Analysis/Call Data Records (CDR) – Every time a mobile phone connects to its mobile network, for a call or text message etc, it connects to an antenna on a telecommunication mast in its proximity. Each antenna (aka cell) is identified by the network and this cell ID appears in the CDR. Using the internet, email, video calls and downloads whilst using mobile data can also result in a connection between a mobile phone and its network and therefore cells of a mast. Movement of a phone whilst it is switched on generates new entries in the CDR and can enable the phone to be tracked via the cells, but this is not the same as tracking the phone via GPS.
GPS data – Tracking data of a mobile phone based on location services which illustrates where the phone has been.
Travel
Travel of a specific person, coupled with mobile phone evidence, will strengthen any phone attribution evidence. The Police may use the following lines of investigation to show a specific person travelled to an area in question including the number of visits and their duration:
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) – As a vehicle passes an ANPR camera its registration number is read and instantly checked against the database records of vehicles of interest. A record for all vehicles passing by a camera is stored, including those vehicles that are not of interest at the time of the ANPR ‘hit’.
Covert surveillance – This may involve photos or surveillance logs or audio recordings made by undercover police officers in respect of people, addresses or vehicles of interest.
All of the above demonstrates just how complicated a drugs case can become. These investigations are often time consuming and lengthy, resulting in a huge amount of material to be analysed. It is imperative that your legal team is proactive in its approach to ensure you end up with the best result possible if you are accused of a drug offence. Between us at SMART Criminal Defence we have decades of experience of conducting successful defences in such cases and we will make sure you are provided with the best representation possible.
We would warmly welcome an enquiry via our Contact page or call us free of charge on 0333 200 8581. We pride ourselves in getting back to all enquirers promptly.
