Men jailed after £900k drugs bust

Friday 23 March 2018

Two men have been jailed for a variety of drugs offences which included possession of cannabis, N-Ethylpentylone and Buprenorphine, worth a total of up to £900,000.

Adam Brian Hole (37) and Kieran Davey Rice (31) have been jailed for five-and-a-half years, and nine and-a-half years respectively, while Urbino Vieira Rodrigues (30), has been released, after spending more than seven months in custody.

Crown Advocate Conrad Yates told the Royal Court that Hole arrived in Jersey on 27 July 2017 on the ferry from Portsmouth. Later that day, he fell by accident and broke both of his legs and was given a mobility scooter at the hospital.

Rice, who was under surveillance by police officers, was seen getting into Rodrigues' car near Queen's Road on 31 July 2017. The two drove away but Rice later walked back to his house carrying a dark-coloured Adidas holdall.

The following day, Hole was seen waiting outside of Bohemia in his mobility scooter. Rice arrived in a friend's car and took a blue bag out of the boot. Both men went into the hotel car park. Rice handed the bag to Hole and took away a black and white plastic bag which appeared very heavy according to police officers on duty in the area.

Rice was arrested shortly after on suspicion of drug trafficking offences. Officers found 110 bars of cannabis resin weighing 10.77kg and worth up to £215,460 in the plastic bag. They also found over 3,000 buprenorphine (subutex) tablets, weighing 1.38kg and worth up to £276,400.

Hole was arrested around the same time in the car park. He admitted having just collected a bag but denied knowing what was in it. Officers found £115,000 in cash in his vehicle as well as around 13,990 N-ethypentylone tablets, weighing 5.16kg. They were estimated to be worth up to £349,775 if sold as ecstasy. 

Pictured: Adam Brian Hole (37) and Kieran Davey Rice (31) were arrested on 1 August 2017 in front of Bohemia.

When searching Rice's house, officers found 195 grams of crystalline MDMA of 74% purity worth £20,000. They also found a carrier bag containing 20 bars of cannabis, approximatively £1.94kg, worth up to £38,800. They found more cannabis, worth £1,120, hidden in glass bowls, jars and a Kinder Egg and 16 other N-ethypentylone tablets worth £400.

Nothing was found in Rodrigues' house although, upon arrest, he told his girlfriend and father "Oh my god, my life, I'm f**ed."

Rice said he had gotten the bag of drugs a week or two earlier by an unknown male as he had to pay off a £3,000 drugs debt. 

Hole admitted bringing a car over from the UK, a silver VW Passat containing a number of bars of cannabis and what he believed to be a quantity of sleeping pills and painkillers. He explained he had been down on his luck after being made  redundant in January 2017 and had been struggling to manage his debts. He said he was given an opportunity to make to some money by people he refused to name.

Pictured: Hole had travelled to Jersey by ferry with 10.77kg of cannabis resin and 1.38kg of buprenorphine hidden in his car. 

The Crown Advocate said that Rice played a key part in the operation and that although he said he had no choice, there was "no evidence of threats to him and his family." He added that Rice had been a participant on the drug scene for a few years.

As for Hole, the Crown Advocate said he acted as a courier "albeit a trusted one responsible for the passage of a large amount of Buprenorphine and cannabis and also the transportation of money back to the UK," which suggested a close relation with the supplier.

Speaking of Rodrigues, he said that the fact he was unaware of the amount of drugs in the bag was as much an aggravating factor as a mitigating one as he was prepared to take the risk anyway.

Advocate Francesca Pinel, who was representing Hole, said he had been nothing but a normal courier. She explained that after being made redundant In January 2017 he had struggled for money and found himself depressed and desperate. 

Advocate James Bell, representing Rice, said he deeply regretted his "serious errors of judgments and mistakes." He explained that Rice had endured several personal traumatic episodes in recent years and started using cannabis resin on regular basis, which he said was a "misguided attempt at self medication." 

Advocate Julian Gollop, who was defending Rodrigues, said that he was the least involved of the three. He said he fully accepted he had made a gross error of judgment and was not excepting a payment or a reward in return for dropping a bag "he knew belonged to someone and contained a certain amount of pills." He added that Rodrigues' involvement was extremely limited and that he was not involved in what happened at Bohemia, nor did he have knowledge of what was in Hole's car. 

Pictured: Rice had 20 bars of cannabis, approximatively £1.94kg, worth up to £38,800, in his house.

Handing out the sentence, Royal Court Commissioner Sir Michael Birt, who was sitting with Jurats Elizabeth Dulake, Pamela Pitman, Jane Ronge, Paul Nicole, Charles Blampied and Geoffrey Grime, said the Crown's conclusions were right but that Hole and Rice's sentences should be uplifted to reflect the money laundering offences.

He said that Hole's references showed he "had much to offer in many respects" but that he nevertheless became involved in the operation. He said the court had no option but to sentence to prison for five-and-a-half years.

Speaking of Rice, the Commissioner said that it was clear that his drug dependecy resulted in debt but that "threats form drug dealers do not amount to mitigation as the person who buys drugs puts himself in the situation." He said that while Rice's letter of remorse and references showed a positive side to him, he had acted as minder for a variety of drugs and that there was no alternative to a prison sentence. He sentenced Rice to nine-and-a-half years in prison.

As for Rodrigues, Sir Michael Birt said his position was very different and this offence was unrelated to the others. He said he was returning a bag he knew contained drugs and which had been left at his house after a party. He added that his actions were at the lower end of the scale of the offence and said the correct sentence was 12 months in prison. As Rodrigues had already spent over seven months in custody, he ordered for his immediate release.