A DRUG dealer who tried to escape police in a taxi has been jailed for 26 months.
Benjamin Critchley was driving a grey Range Rover with false number plates in January this year.
Police tried to stop him, but the 37-year-old from Maine Street in Green Park, drove on.
His car was then involved in a collision with a white van on the IDR slip road, and he then carried on driving along the A33. The van driver was not injured.
Officers found the car on Boulton Road, where it was unlocked. A search of the area found Critchley attempting to escape in a taxi.
Police arrested him and discovered he was carrying £1,145 in cash, and a mobile phone containing details of drug supply, while the Range Rover had been registered as stolen.
A search of his home discovered cannabis worth £5,600 and paraphernalia related to drug dealing.
As a result, Critchley was charged on January 16, and remanded in custody. He pleaded guilty on February 20 to one count each of: dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and vehicle damage of over £5,000, possession with intent to supply cannabis, being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs, and possession of criminal property.
He was given his sentence during a haring at Reading Crown Court on Friday, April 27.
Detective Constable Aimee Usher, of the Reading Stronghold Team, said: We will proactively and robustly target and prosecute offenders and our activity will be both visible and covert aimed at disrupting and pursuing offenders involved in the supply of drugs.
“The information from the public around the drug supply offences in Reading plays an important role in developing intelligence into a proactive investigation.
“If you have any information we would encourage you to report it to us by calling 101 or through the online reporting on our website.”
