Six years for kickboxing cocaine dealer

29 June 2010

A drug trafficker who fled abroad in a bid to avoid justice has today been sentenced to six years imprisonment at Woolwich Crown Court.

Kickboxer Adam Hart admitted conspiring to supply cocaine when arrested by Amsterdam Police’s Fast Response Unit in December 2009. He had been on the run for more than two years after absconding in August 2007 when officers searched an address in Purfleet Essex.

Three-and-a half kilograms of cocaine, with a wholesale value of around £150,000, had earlier been found in the possession of Hart’s associates.

Hart was featured in the SOCA/Crimestoppers Operation Captura appeal targeting UK criminals hiding out in Spain, and on BBC Crimewatch, before being located in the Netherlands.

When arrested, Hart was carrying €5,000 hidden in his underpants and a number of false identity documents. He also attempted to swallow a mobile phone sim card as Dutch officers approached.

SOCA Director General, Bill Hughes, said:

“We’re pleased that a dangerous drug dealer is now behind bars. Absconding abroad has brought him nothing but years of looking over his shoulder, and now a long stretch in prison.”

“This is also another great result of SOCA’s work in partnership with Crimestoppers, a charity which has made a unique and considerable contribution to fighting crime in the UK, as marked last week by reaching 100,000 arrests involving information provided anonymously.”

Dave Cording, Crimestoppers' Director of Operations, said:

"Hart's sentence shows that just because criminals go on the run abroad it doesn't mean they can escape the arms of British justice. It also highlights how successful law enforcers in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands are at working together with the help of the vital information provided by the public.

"People should always remember they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously at anytime and from anywhere, they may just have the missing information needed to bring justice to victims and their families."

Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111, or via the ‘giving information’ form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org