Court orders drug dealer spend longer in prison
A drug dealer who sold cocaine worth nearly half-a-million pounds before fleeing to evade arrest has his sentence increased after Court of Appeal intervened.
Joshua Poulton (28), from Solihull, has had his 12-and-a-half year sentenced increased to 15 years and three months after the Solicitor General referred his conviction as being unduly lenient.
The court heard that following the imprisonment of a relative, Poulton took a leading role in a drugs operation.
Poulton employed two men to act as couriers and over seven weeks between October and November 2021, he sold at least 35kg of cocaine worth £470,000 to a number of organised crime groups.
When Poulton realised the police wanted to arrest him, he fled the country travelling to several locations, including the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Portugal, and the United States.
Poulton was later detained in Spain and extradited to the UK in December 2022 to appear in court.
The Solicitor General, Michael Tomlinson KC MP, said:
Illegal drugs harm our communities and are often a catalyst for other crimes. The offender was selling vast quantities of class A drugs, and I did not believe his sentence reflected the severity of his crimes.
Thankfully the court agreed and in increasing his sentence, I hope this sends a warning to drug dealers that we will use all our powers to put a stop to your criminal enterprises.
Poulton was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court on 18 July 2023.
On Friday 6 October 2023, the Court of Appeal increased Poulton’s sentence to 15 years and three months imprisonment after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.