Class A drugs worth an estimated street value of £4,300 have been taken off the streets of Ashford by neighbourhood officers carrying out a foot patrol.
Inspector Richard Batten and Sergeant Kim Cameron from the Ashford Community Safety Unit were walking through the town centre as part of the team’s work in the evenings during the busy festive season when they grew suspicious of a man seen near Regents Place.
The man was arrested on suspicion of drugs offences and further enquiries into the incident on the evening of Saturday 2 December 2023, resulted in police seizing a machete and a bag containing around 200 wraps of class A drugs.
An 18-year-old man from London was charged on Sunday 3 December with possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply and possessing a bladed article in a public place. He appeared at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on the following day, and was remanded in custody. The case will next be heard at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday 2 January 2024.