Drug dealer behind bars after admitting to selling cocaine and cannabis

A drug dealer has been locked up following a stop-and-search that led officers to a cannabis grow in Stoke-on-Trent.

Kyle Mills, 31, of Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday 13 December to 42 months in prison for possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A (cocaine).

He was also jailed for nine months, to run concurrently, for possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class B (cannabis).

Mills had initially pleaded not guilty to both charges but changed his plea to guilty at trial on 15 August, this year. No separate penalty was handed out for producing a controlled drug of class B (cannabis) and acquiring/using/possessing criminal property.

Proactive officers acting on intelligence stopped a grey Audi S3 driven by Mills, on Davenport Street, Stoke-on-Trent, at 3pm, on Wednesday 3 March, 2021.

Officers seized around £750 cash and two mobile phones containing messages relating to drug dealing from inside the vehicle. Mills was arrested and taken into custody.

When officers later searched Mills’ home address, they found a cannabis grow in the front upstairs bedroom. Nine cannabis plants and equipment, including lamps and a filtration unit, were seized.

Bags of cocaine and cannabis, worth almost £6,000 in total, and scales were found elsewhere inside the property.

Investigating officer, DC Ian Prendergast, from CID North, said: “Ensuring Mills was brought to justice for his crimes is a positive outcome. Intelligence is key to our ability to take drug dealers off the streets of Staffordshire, and I would urge anyone who suspects drug dealing in their area to report it to us.”

Officers from the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), which is made up of officers from Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire and West Mercia, have been tackling serious organised crime through Operation Target.

To read more about the operation, visit: Major operation to target serious organised crime launched | Staffordshire Police

To report crime, please contact us on 101, or via LiveChat on our website. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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