Model and drug dealer boyfriend walk free because police took 25 months to charge them

A model and her drug dealer boyfriend were spared jail despite selling £18,000 worth of cocaine, because the police took so long to charge them.

Angharad Williams, 28, and Robert Sandhu, 20, were arrested after being discovered by officers with a horde of the class A drug and £700 in cash.

But they were allowed to escape with suspended jail sentences because the police took two years to bring charges against them.

The two-year gap meant the offence went way over the custody threshold.

Sentencing the couple, Judge Geraint Walters said they said it “grinded him” not be sending them to prison.

"Had you come before me in a timely manner, you would both be going to prison but I cannot ignore the inordinate delay,” he said.

"I am going to be frank with you. It grinds me not to send Class-A drug dealers straight to prison.

"I feel uncomfortable in having to even think about it.

"My heart tells me I should send you to prison but my head tells me that would be unjust and as judges were are ruled by our head."

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A jury at Swansea Crown Court heard how the pair gor involved with drug dealing to fund their lavish lifestyles.

They frequently spent their cash on designer clothing, expensive cars and luxury holidays.

Williams and Sandhu were stopped in a Mercedes on the M4 motorway in May 2017 with 40g of cocaine along with £730 cash and mobile phones.

Police also discovered they had made a total of £18,000 from their drug dealing venture.

Dyfed-Powys Police then took 25 months to write to them to tell them they would be prosecuted.

Both Williams and Sandhu pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

Sandu was sentenced to two years in jail suspended for two years because considered to be the “main driver” of the enterprise.

He was also ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and made subject of a curfew.

Williams, who worked part-time as a model, was sentenced to a year in jail suspended for two years and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Deputy chief constable of Dyfed-Powys Police Claire Parmenter claimed officers faced "a number of investigative difficulties" in case, resulting in the delay.

She said: "We acknowledge that the delay in this particular case is not the level of service we aim for or expect. Delays in getting criminal cases to the courts can happen for a wide range of investigative reasons.

"Cases that appear to be straightforward often require complex work to prepare evidence which is strong enough to bring charges against offenders and secure their prosecution.

"In this particular case investigators faced a number of investigative difficulties which eventually resulted in a delay in issuing the summons to court. This included the defendants’ refusal to allow police access to their electronic devices, complex forensic and financial analysis work, and the need for the case to be fully reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service."