A Swindon drug dealer arrested during a proactive policing operation in the town has been jailed for two years and seven months.
Robert Peapell, 35, of no fixed address, was arrested at the Village Inn Hotel in Shaw Ridge in October last year.
Officers from Wiltshire Police’s Fortitude team had been working on a joint operation with colleagues from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) to target the supply of Class A drugs in the town.
The operation was supported by funding obtained from the SWROCU.
When they searched the hotel room they seized 17 wraps of crack cocaine, mobile phones, around £485 in cash, as well as other drugs paraphernalia.
Peapell appeared at Swindon Crown Court yesterday after previously pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, namely crack cocaine, and acquiring, using or having possession of criminal property, namely £485 in cash.
He was jailed for two years and seven months.
Detective Constable Rebecca Taylor, from Operation Fortitude, welcomed the sentence.
She said: “The arrest of Peapell and his subsequent conviction and jailing came about thanks to a targeted investigation into the “Jango” drugs line.
“We carried out a huge amount of investigative work to link Peapell to this line, which was supplying Class A drugs to vulnerable users in the Swindon area.
“The work we are doing is having a huge impact on disrupting and closing down these County Lines drugs lines, which we know cause such harm to our communities – we reply on information from the public so would urge anyone with information about the supply of illegal drugs to report it.”
If you have information about drug dealing or suspicious activity in your community please report it to us.
No matter how small the piece of information is, it will be recorded and used to build up a bigger intelligence picture that officers can then act on.
Call police on 101 – all information is held securely and your name will not be used in evidence. Or if you prefer, ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
