The United Kingdom’s Essex police department published bodycam video on Monday that showed their officers busting a suspected drug dealer who was later sentenced to 35 months in jail.
Police arrested Thomas Salton, the 30-year-old suspect who was later convicted of dealing drugs, after a traffic stop inspection during which he seemed “nervous and agitated,” a statement by the Essex police read in part. (RELATED: METHodism: Pastor Arrested For Offering Couples Drugs To Watch Them Have Gay Sex, Cops Say)
“This is the moment our officers caught a drug dealer in the middle of his plan to supply nitrous oxide and ketamine to users in [Essex]. He’s been jailed for 35 months – a landmark sentence as #Essex officers put fresh legislation to good use,” Essex police tweeted alongside a video of the arrest.
This is the moment our officers caught a drug dealer in the middle of his plan to supply nitrous oxide and ketamine to users in #Essex.
He’s been jailed for 35 months – a landmark sentence as #Essex officers put fresh legislation to good use.
Read more: https://t.co/NPBXmfsyzG pic.twitter.com/Ko8NgKVX5A
— Essex Police (@EssexPoliceUK) February 19, 2024
The video — dated Dec. 1, 2023 — begins with an officer and Salton in the frame. Another officer, the one with the bodycam, then asks Salton if there is anything illegal in the vehicle.
“Christmas presents, that is it,” Salton says.
The clip then cuts to the officer telling Salton that “honesty is the best policy” and repeating the question.
“Just presents. Christmas presents,” Salton repeats.
The officer then asks for and receives the keys to Salton’s car. While digging through the boxes in the car, the officer finds a bag with white powder. He then arrests Salton and places him in the police car.
Further searching uncovered “party bags containing items such as Christmas crackers and sweets” as well as “grip-sealed bags of ketamine, together with nitrous oxide cannisters with balloons,” according to the police press release.
“Officers also seized a sum of cash – found to be more than £38,000,” the release continued. “Amongst the items found was a ‘naughty and nice’ list, denoting the customers at the party who had elected to have illicit drugs in their party bags, and a non-disclosure agreement with Salton’s name at the top.”
Nitrous oxide is more commonly known as laughing gas and is used “to relieve anxiety,” WebMD explains. The same site describes ketamine as a “short-acting anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic effects.”
According to the police, more drugs and 408 nitrous oxide canisters were later found at Salton’s home.
“This was an organised operation,” Detective Sergeant Stephen Robson of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit said, the police statement read. The United Kingdom banned possession of laughing gas starting in Nov. and proscribed for repeat serial users a sentence of up to two years and for dealers for up to 14 years in prison.