A bicycle courier working in the food delivery sector has confessed to dealing cocaine in an Oxfordshire town and will be sentenced next month.
Leonardo Silvestre, aged 23 and without a fixed home, entered a guilty plea to a single count of possession with intent to supply a class A controlled substance, specifically cocaine, at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
He was remanded in custody awaiting sentencing at Oxford Crown Court on May 12.
This comes after his arrest on April 10 on Denchworth Road in Wantage.
Thames Valley Police revealed that officers apprehended a man impersonating a food delivery cyclist following suspicious activity that drew their notice.
The force commented that the hunch turned out to be correct and during the search they uncovered 16 packages of cocaine and more than £1,000 in banknotes. Everything was taken into evidence.
The cocaine uncovered by officers after the arrest on Denchworth Road, Wantage (Image: Thames Valley Police)
The police unit confirmed this operation was part of their ongoing campaign to tackle drug crime in Wantage.
They said their recent consultation made it unmistakably clear that local residents expect them to focus on drug-related offending and that is exactly what they are doing.
In the days that followed, they dealt with several other individuals suspected of involvement in drugs, including the detention of a man reportedly caught dealing on April 11 at Naldertown in Wantage.
The bicycle recovered following the arrest on Denchworth Road, Wantage (Image: Thames Valley Police)
The force reported that consequently a 22-year-old male from outside the locality was taken into custody on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. Controlled substances and currency were discovered on him, and his car was impounded.
That person has been granted conditional release by police pending further investigation until June 26.
On April 12, officers spotted another individual engaged in drug-related conduct in Wantage, with the suspect running away from the officers.
The police indicated that despite their maximum efforts and assistance from the police helicopter they were unable to find him.
Police carry out a drugs-related arrest in Wantage (Image: Thames Valley Police)
They added that they did impound his motor vehicle, along with cash and other substantial items.
As of Friday, April 17, no detentions have been made regarding that occurrence.
In one of their statements, the Wantage and Grove neighbourhood policing team warned that much of the drug activity in the area is linked to county lines operations.
The police expanded that this entails organised drug networks from major urban centres extending into smaller towns, manipulating vulnerable people to carry drugs and money. This brings violence, intimidation and exploitation into communities that merit better. They stated this is one of several detentions they have carried out recently and that every time county lines tries to take root in Wantage, they will be there and they will halt them. They offered sincere thanks to their outstanding colleagues from Abingdon and Faringdon neighbourhood policing teams for their assistance, noting that partnership working keeps their communities secure.