Horse Fair Drug Handler Jailed

A man has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail for attempting to supply drugs at last year’s Appleby Horse Fair.

Police arrested Leonard Elizja Howard last June after seizing £200 worth of cocaine when he was searched after a car was stop checked in Brampton during the Fair.

Howard, 25, of Shamrock Rd, Gravesend, Kent, was sentenced to forty five months imprisonment at Carlisle Crown Court for the attempted supply of cocaine.

The convictions come after officers were informed that a vehicle was acting suspiciously in a yard in Brampton village, near Appleby on Sunday 7 June 2009.

Officers conducted a stop check on a white ford transit van and searched its three male occupants. Searches on two of the occupants were negative but Howard was seen to drop a camouflaged pouch that was filled with eight packets of white powder – later confirmed to be cocaine.

The street value of the seized drugs is estimated to be around £230.

Howard was arrested and later charged. He pleaded guilty of possession with intent to supply.

Detective Inspector Jim Skeer, of Carlisle CID, said: "Howard was planning to supply drugs at the annual Appleby Horse Fair. A lot of intelligence-based work goes on behind the scenes in the lead up to events such as Appleby – and all year around - to paint a picture of illegal drug use and supply in our county.

"A similar intelligence-led approach will be undertaken in the run up to, and during this year’s Appleby Horse Fair. Specialist officers that are highly trained to conduct in-depth searches will all be on hand, alongside extra passive drugs dogs funded by the Eden CDRP to deter criminals, detect offences and help to keep our communities safe and free from drugs."

(PR/GK)