A man who was found to be carrying cocaine after being stopped by officers from our Fortitude Team has been jailed for two and a half years

Robert Papa, aged 21, from no fixed address in Salisbury, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs at Salisbury Crown Court yesterday (12/11) where he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

On Wednesday 14 October 2020, Papa was stopped on the A303, returning from Amesbury to Andover, after police intelligence showed that the Ford Focus he was driving was being used to supply drugs. Following a strip search, Papa was found in possession of 18 bags of cocaine with a street value of approximately £900. Evidence on his phone also indicated that he had just sold cocaine in Amesbury.

Papa, who had just arrived in the country from Romania a few days previously, had no previous convictions in the UK.

Det Con Mark Welch, from the Fortitude Team, said: “This is a good result for the team as it proves good intelligence given to the police can track down and prevent criminals continuing to supply illegal drugs in to our county as well as across borders.

“We believe Papa to have been part of a larger drugs network and so this sentence will impact and disrupt the activities of those criminal gangs.

Wiltshire Police will continue to robustly pursue those who sell controlled drugs and with the launch of Fortitude this pursuit will be relentless.