Drug dealer jailed after police pursuit reveals over £8k in car

A drug dealer has been jailed after fleeing police in a car containing more than £8,000 in cash in Stoke-on-Trent in 2022.

Kalem Marsh, aged 23, of Baddley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced on 14 August at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court to two and a half years in prison after admitting possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis.

The court heard how Marsh was travelling northbound in a BMW on the A34 at Hanford, on 22 October 2022, when he spotted officers, working on intelligence, following the vehicle.

Officers pulled in front of the BMW to make it stop, when it suddenly reversed and smashed into another vehicle before making off over the central reservation and heading southbound before running a red light.

Thankfully, no one was injured in the collision and officers continued to pursue the BMW.

The car stopped at the junction of Leaside Road and Brookfield Road where the occupants ran off. An officer then caught up with Marsh who was arrested.

We later searched the car and found a total of £8,038 in cash along with a number of cannabis deals, a large wrap of white powder, three mobile phones and small empty seal bags. The drugs recovered from the vehicle were estimated to be worth £4,090.

Marsh was charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply and later pleaded guilty to the offences in court.

Speaking following sentencing, Detective Constable Ian Prendergast of the force’s CID North team, said: “Marsh made every effort to evade officers when we tried to stop him dealing drugs in October 2022.

“Only through the persistent efforts of officers at the scene were we able to apprehend him and recover all of the cash, drugs and paraphernalia that was part of his criminal enterprise.

“We hope this sentence goes some way to deter dealers intent on destroying our communities and shows how committed we are in getting these criminals behind bars.”

The sentencing follows our dedicated operation, Operation Target, aimed at disrupting major organised crime networks which has so far resulted in more than 1,000 arrests.