Jail for dealer caught red-handed with bag packed full of Class A drugs

A heroin and crack cocaine dealer has landed himself a five-year-prison sentence after being caught by police.

Large amounts of the Class A drugs were discovered in Sizwe Sibanda’s car when he was pulled over on the A617, near Mansfield.

A bag filled with a selection of drug wraps was stuffed in a compartment inside the driver’s door, while wads of cash were found in his pockets.

Sibanda found himself on the radar of Operational Support officers when his vehicle activated automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.

After seeing on the system that the car had potential links to the supply of drugs, the policing team quickly tracked it down and pulled it over on 5 December 2021.

Sibanda was caught red-handed soon after that, with further checks of the vehicle leading to the discovery of several mobile phones and more quantities of cash.

His Broxtowe home was then also searched by police, with more drugs, as well as weighing scales and 11 separate mobile phones all being found inside and seized.

Despite the evidence presented against him, Sibanda always denied the two counts of possessing with intent to supply Class A drugs he was charged with.

A jury didn’t believe him however, with the 31-year-old found guilty of both offences following a trial that concluded at Nottingham Crown Court last Friday (29 November).

He returned to the same court on Monday (2 December), where Sibanda, of Broxtowe Lane, Broxtowe, was jailed for five years.

Detective Constable Heather Jordan, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“This sentence should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of selling Class A drugs in our county that doing this will lead to severe consequences.

“Despite denying doing anything wrong, Sibanda knew full well that he had large amounts of heroin and crack cocaine in his car, not to mention around £1,500 in cash raised through dealing drugs.

“We’re pleased to see that the jury saw through his lies and that he’s now received a prison sentence befitting of such a serious crime.”