A READING man has been sentenced to jail time for drug offences following a police investigation.
Derek Sardo, aged 24 and of Kennet Side, Ride, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A, namely heroin and cocaine, and one count of breach of a suspended sentence in a hearing at Reading Crown Court on Friday, April 28.
He was subsequently sentenced at the same court on Thursday, August 31, to two years’ imprisonment for the possession charge, and a further year’s imprisonment for the breach of suspended sentence, which will run consecutively.
Sardo was also ordered to forfeit £420 cash seized and a destruction order was made for the drugs and phones.
It follows the execution of a Section 8 PACE warrant at an address in Arthur Place at around 9.40am on Thursday, April 27, during which Sardo climbed out of a child’s bedroom window.
He was detained by officers and searched, where he was found to be in possession of 50 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin, with a street value of £1,000, as well as two mobile phones, and around £70 in cash.
A Section 18 premise search was then conducted at Sardo’s home address in Kennet Side, where drug related paraphernalia were recovered, alongside more than £340 in cash.
Investigating officer PC Liam Steele, part of the Stronghold team based at Reading, said: “I am pleased to see that this conviction has resulted in a substantial prison sentence. I hope Sardo can use this time to reflect upon his actions.
“Our Stronghold team 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.”
