Russell Group undergraduate acquitted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs

We were instructed on a private retainer to advise and represent a university undergraduate at a prestigious Russell Group university who had been charged with a conspiracy to supply class A drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and LSD along with 9 others. The case was eventually split into several trials for case management purposes during the pandemic and some defendants pleaded guilty.

The Crown’s case was that they had uncovered and broken a highly professional network of undergraduate drug dealers who were using social media platforms and in particular What’s App to deal in the supply of drugs. The difference being that the group consisted wholly of undergraduate suppliers and dealers with varying offerings and rates rather than street dealers to end users.

Specialist police units conducted dawn raids across the city making arrests and executing search warrants for drugs, cash and electronic devices and this included searching student accommodation.

Our client was arrested in the first wave and luckily was able to request MPR solicitors at the police station via his family. He was originally provided with the services of the local Duty Solicitor at the police station funded under legal aid but as soon as the family were informed of his arrest, they switched and chose to instruct us immediately and funded his representation on a private retainer.

From the outset we were able to spend sufficient time with our client and devised a strategy which proved to be effective later on in the case at trial. A suspect’s defence starts at the police station stage and it is critical that those under arrest are provided with specialist and comprehensive advice and not rushed. Whether to answer questions in a police interview, go no comment or submit a prepared statement: these can be decisive at a pre-charge stage and for trial. Cases are often won or lost due to advice at the police station stage.

In this particular case we were able to put the client at ease, liaise with the family and other potential witnesses at the pre- charge stage.

Following charge, our client was granted bail and we were able to actively pursue a pro-active technical defence.

With meticulous attention to detail, a solid defence team with specialist experts in Forensic IT, we were able to advance a successful defence and our client was acquitted at trial with a unanimous jury verdict of not guilty.

Our client has been able to resume his academic studies and will continue to have an unblemished record.

At MPR solicitors we specialise in representing those accused of serious criminal and complex offences. Our solicitors are all highly trained professionals keen to act pro-actively and with compassion for their clients.

We pride ourselves on a bespoke and personalised service for our clients. We never take on too many clients as we believe in spending the right amount of time, care and attention to each case. We also like to think outside the box coming up with often unusual defence strategies to crack a nut.

If you would like a highly professional, innovative and pro-active approach to your case, please contact us in complete confidence to arrange an initial consultation with one of our specialist criminal defence solicitors and barristers on 0203 824 8080 or email us at law@mprsolicitors.co.uk