Two men sentenced for drug supply offences in Northampton

Two men have been sentenced to a combined total of six years and two months after pleading guilty to supplying Class A drugs in Northampton.

Charlie Stewart and Liam Robert Ferguson were arrested on the afternoon of January 15 this year, following concerns that an address in St Paul’s Road, Northampton, was being used by a drug line to supply drugs.

When officers visited the flat – the home of Ferguson – they found both the 44-year-old and Stewart inside in possession of 22 individual wraps of heroin and 21 deals of crack cocaine, along with scales and two Nokia mobile phones.

Both men were arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, appearing at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on January 17, where their case was committed to the crown court.

On May 13 at Northampton Crown Court, Stewart and Ferguson both pleaded guilty to both offences, and on August 9, they returned to the same court to be sentenced.

Stewart, aged 20, of The Crown Close, Upton, Northampton, was sentenced to four years and 10 months’ detention at a young offender institution, while Ferguson was handed 16 months in prison.

In addition to the drug offences, Ferguson was also handed a 16-month consecutive sentence after pleading guilty to an attempted residential burglary in Essex Terrace, Northampton, in the early hours of Christmas Eve (December 24) last year.

He also received a further three-month sentence to run concurrently to the 32 months after admitting stealing a bicycle worth £100 on the same night from an address in Semilong House, Semilong Road, Northampton.

Sergeant Scott Garbett, of the Operation Revive West team, said: “I’m pleased with the sentences handed to Charlie Stewart and Liam Ferguson, and hope this is seen as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of dealing drugs within our communities.

“Drug harm is a matter of priority for the Force, and we will continue to tenaciously enforce and disrupt drug dealers, who prey on the most vulnerable people in our society and bring misery to our streets and communities.”

Operation Revive is the Force’s hard-hitting enforcement campaign which focuses on bringing the offenders of serious violence associated with Class A drug dealing and gangs to justice.

If anyone has concerns about drug dealing, or someone becoming drawn into gang culture, please report it to us on 101, online at www.northants.police.uk/ro or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.