A DRUG dealer who hid 13kg of cocaine in a flat in Hildenborough has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.
Police were called to the Nizels Lane property on September 13 last year, following reports of a disturbance.
Christopher Brewer, aged 28, told officers three men had burst into his flat and attacked himself and a friend. Both men were taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital, from where Brewer then fled wearing just a hospital gown.
Brewer fled to Spain but was caught after trying to enter the UK on a friend’s passport during a routine stop of a car by the UK Border Force in Coquilles, France.
Brewer tried to show a passport belonging to a friend but when the vehicle was searched his own passport was located and he was the identified as wanted and arrested.
Police found large packages of cocaine concealed in places including behind kickboards in the kitchen and on the roof, behind a chimney breast.
The drugs had purity levels of almost 100 per cent and a street value of £1-2million.
Boxes of substances, later confirmed as cutting agents, were also recovered along with quantities of cash and an air pistol.
Brewer was charged by Kent Police with possessing cocaine with intent to supply and for possessing criminal property (namely £22,350 in cash and an Audi car).
He was also charged with being in possession of an identity document with improper intention. Brewer pleaded guilty and on January 12 and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court.
Leading the investigation was Detective Constable Hayley Campbell who said: “It would appear Brewer was actually assaulted by rival criminals who had attempted to steal drugs from him.
“He knew police would be attending his property as a result of the disturbance and in a panic tried to remove any evidence that it was being used as a base to cut up and supply cocaine. This included using ammonia as a cleaning agent, which he lied about being assaulted with.
“The truth was that Brewer was involved in the supply of very significant quantities of cocaine, destined for distribution across Kent and which would no doubt have contributed to the severe and often devastating impact drugs have on the lives of users and their local communities.”
Brewer will be now be subject to an investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act and this will be used to try and claw back any benefits he may have gained from his criminal activities.
