11 years behind bars for dealers stopped on Thanet way with cocaine and cash stash

Two drug dealers found with a large amount of cocaine and cash have been jailed for a total of more than 11 years.

James Hammacott and Sam Marshall were in a Mercedes van which Kent Police suspected was linked to drug dealing on 1 February 2023.

The van was stopped as it drove along the A299 Thanet Way near St Nicholas-at-Wade and officers carried out a search of the vehicle.

Inside were two packages of cocaine, each weighing more than a kilo and a shoebox containing more than £25,000 in cash.

Both men were arrested and later charged by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Jailed

They each later admitted possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.

At Canterbury Crown Court on 20 July, Marshall, 32, from West Sussex, was jailed for six years and one month. Hammacott, 22, of no fixed abode, was given a five-year, nine-month sentence at the same hearing.

Detective Sergeant Jon Saxby from Kent Police’s Serious Crime Directorate, said: ‘Kent Police will not tolerate criminals coming into the county to deal drugs which lead to further crime and anti-social behaviour.

‘The quick stop of this vehicle, the subsequent charges and jail terms now imposed are all part of our ongoing work to bring drug dealers to justice and take class A drugs off the streets of Kent.’