A drug dealer who filmed videos of his stock, calling himself a “top smuggler”, was caught red handed with his accomplice brother when police raided a Cambridgeshire home.
Deon and Nassim Thomas, aged 26 and 20, were arrested when officers carried out the planned warrant at the home in Ashfield Road in Cambridge.
Alongside drugs and cash, phones were found which later revealed the video of one brother unpacking cannabis while claiming to be a “top smuggler”.
Deon of Harlestones Road, Cottenham, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis.
He also admitted a separate charge of possession of cannabis with intent to supply after he was found with 150g of cannabis in Cambridge on August 3 2018.
Nassim of Ashfield Road pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply and possessing cocaine.
The pair were sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court today (July 14).
Nassim Thomas was given a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.
He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
Deon Thomas was handed 40 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was ordered to complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a 19-day thinking skills programme.
When police searched the house, they found cannabis in various rooms, including a holdall hidden behind a sofa in a garden outbuilding.
A total of 14 bundles of cannabis in vacuum packed bags were found in the holdall with a street value of up to £3,080.
More of the class B drug with a street value of approximately £220 was also found in the rooms of both Deon and Nassim.
In Deon Thomas’ room officers discovered weighing scales, £420 in cash and a phone.
In Nassim Thomas’ room were some black weighing scales, £280 in cash, two wraps of cocaine worth roughly £140 and numerous mobile phones.
Similar vacuum-packed bags to those found in the holdall were also found.
The phones were examined and two of them showed evidence of drug dealing. On another iPhone officers found a video filmed the day before the warrant was carried out.
In the video, Nassim Thomas could be seen unpacking a holdall identical to the one found in the garden shed and shouting “I’m a top smuggler” before unpacking some jeans and retrieving several small packets of cannabis from them. He later told officers he had just returned from a holiday.
Both brothers were arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis intent to supply, with Nassim Thomas also arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine.
In police interview Nassim Thomas answered “no comment” to all questions asked of him.
Deon Thomas said the cannabis found in his room with a street value of £60 was for his personal use, and claimed to use the weighing scales himself to make sure he was “never ripped off”.
He denied any knowledge of the cannabis found in the holdall. He first claimed he was the only one with access to the Nokia phone found in his bed, but later changed his story to say his friends and family used it too.
When asked about the context of the messages and people asking him for amounts of “dotty” he claimed that this was a slang term for brake fluid as he worked as a mechanic.
He couldn’t answer why so many people were asking if he was “about” in the messages and said a drugs debt list, found in his draft messages, must have been put there by someone else.
PC Alex Oliver, who investigated, said: “Despite the brothers’ best efforts to hide their criminality they were essentially caught red handed - with the holdall and the phone data, including the video, proving important pieces of evidence.
“Officers carried out the warrant after information supplied from members of the public and this case highlights how reporting suspicions about drug dealing to us can really make a difference.
“We all have a role to play in keeping our local areas safe from drug dealing, and I would encourage anyone with suspicions to tell us.
“You don’t have to tell us your name, just what you have seen. Your information could be vital.
“Unusual activity could include people coming and going from an address and at odd times of the day and night, strange smells, windows covered up or curtains closed and cars pulling up near to a house for a short period of time.”
Suspicions about drug dealing should be reported online www.cambs.police.uk/report or by calling 101. For more information about drug dealing visit the force website.
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