A Tunbridge Wells dealer has been jailed after hidden cocaine was seized in his hotel room.
At around midday on Tuesday 4 January 2022, officers from the town’s community policing team were on patrol in Mount Ephraim, when they saw a Mini slow down and come to a halt.
The constables had previously seen the vehicle being used during a suspected drug deal and stopped to speak to the driver, Sinan Kizil.
Kizil falsely claimed it was his first visit to the town and he was trying to find somewhere to stay.
He was searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act and the officers recovered a bag containing cocaine deals from his pocket along with a door card from a nearby hotel.
58 bags of cocaine
Kizil was arrested and when the officers searched his room, 58 bags of cocaine were seized from a sock inside a suitcase.
The cocaine was estimated to have a street value of £2,280 and Kizil, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was charged with possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.
He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and on Wednesday 7 December, 31-year-old Kizil was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment.
Police investigator Amanda Lissenden, of Maidstone CID, said: ‘Kizil’s account of visiting Tunbridge Wells for the first time was immediately recognised to be false by the officers who had spotted him in the town a few days previously.
‘After that, it was only a matter of time before the diligent officers found the cocaine he had hidden in his clothing and back at his hotel room.
‘He has learned to his cost that drug dealers quickly come to the attention of local patrols and are swiftly brought to justice.’