Manchester drug dealers jailed for longer
Two men have had their sentences increased following an intervention by the Solicitor General, The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP.
Jonathan Bailey, 47, and Adam Truman, 38, stored and dealt large quantities of illegal drugs in the Manchester area.
They were arrested in December 2019 following an extensive police investigation which also netted more than 200g of cocaine, 20kg of amphetamine and 2kg of cannabis.
Both Bailey and Truman had previous convictions for supplying drugs. Bailey was also on licence at the time of his arrest.
They both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs between November and December 2019. Bailey was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to supply class B drugs and sentenced to 2 years and 9 months’ imprisonment on 7 May 2021 at Manchester Crown Court.
Truman was convicted of one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and a further count of conspiracy to supply class B drugs. He was sentenced to 2 years, 3 months’ imprisonment on the same day.
On 15 July 2021, in a joint hearing at the Court of Appeal, their sentences were each found to be unduly lenient. Bailey’s sentence was increased to 6 years and 4 months’ imprisonment, while Truman’s was increased to 5 years and 3 months.
After the joint hearing at the Court of Appeal, the Solicitor General, The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, said:
The disastrous effect of the drug trade is not measured by the purity of the drugs on our streets, but by their quantity and availability. Easy access to illegal drugs is destroying lives across the UK, cynically driven by criminals like Bailey and Truman. I referred their sentences to the Court of Appeal because I felt them to be too low, and I am glad that the sentences have now been increased.