Inside massive cannabis sweet and drink stash held by dealer gang, as ‘brazen’ trio sentenced for selling drugs
A GANG of dealers sold thousands of cannabis sweets and drinks on Instagram and Snapchat, a court has heard.
Reo Brandon Mangal, 24, Olivia Butler, 24, and Ceroan Mangal, 35, were caught when Butler was stopped for driving without insurance in Camden, North London, in January 2021.
In the car, cops discovered boxes of sweets and drinks full of THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis.
Butler claimed she was delivering the boxes to a friend and had no idea what was inside them.
But police found 114,629 text messages and 67,964 photos on her phone linking her to her accomplices who were arrested on October 8.
Yesterday Wood Green Crown Court heard that the drugs were delivered by post and payment and were send to three different bank accounts.
Detective Inspector Darren Jones said: “This group brazenly thought they could get away with selling dangerous substances in plain sight on social media.
“The hard work of our officers has put a stop to their criminality and closed a significant supply chain.
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“The impact of these substances should not be underestimated - they can cause an adverse reaction.”
Edibles are typically stronger than other cannabis products and it's impossible for the customer to know what ingredients have been included.
Jones added: “Removing drugs and other dangerous substances from our communities is key to reducing other associated crime that happen as a result of drug dealing, such as violence and anti-social behaviour.'
Reo Brandon Mangal, was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply class B drugs and supply of class B drugs.
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Meanwhile, Butler and Ceroan were handed suspended sentences of eight and nine months imprisonment respectively for their roles in the operation.
It comes after it was claimed that delays to court proceedings were allowing drugs gangs to roam free.
Official figures showed that almost a quarter of trials involving the production or sale of Class A drugs were postponed at the last minute.
The number of cases — involving drugs such as heroin, cocaine, LSD and ecstasy — pulled from court listings has more than doubled in the past five years.
And the number of trials waiting more than a year to come to court is seven times higher than five years ago, up from 239 in 2017 to 1,761 last year.
In all, 1,013 ditched trials were recorded in the year to September 2017 and 2,328 in the 12 months to last September.
Last month, Labour said the backlog is allowing drugs gangs to evade justice.
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Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said: “Every trial delayed means victims and witnesses face further intimidation and harassment, and risks cases collapsing.”
The Ministry of Justice said: “Covid has meant many trials were postponed at the last minute as people fell ill or were forced to isolate.”
