A drug dealer who went on the run and failed to attend his trial earlier this year, has been brought to justice to start a lengthy jail sentence.

Christopher Paul Chambers, who was living in Greenfields Avenue in Appleton, received a 15-year sentence at Durham Crown Court on June 20 after being convicted of being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug of class A, following a trial staged in his absence over preceding days.

His co-accused, Bradley Mark Sinclair, received a 63-month (five years and three months) sentence, having admitted the charge at the court more than a year earlier.

But he also received a further two years for being in possession of drug cash in a separate incident.

The pair were caught when Chambers was returning 1kg of cocaine to Sinclair as he was unhappy with its quality.

CCTV caught Chambers making the ‘return’ with the drugs wrapped in an orange hi-vis jacket to courier Sinclair, near a convenience store in Oak Terrace, Tantobie, near Stanley, on May 20, 2020.

Warrington Guardian:

The meeting was captured as part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of Chambers who regularly exchanged encrypted messages on the EncroChat network, using the handle Magentariver.

He was unaware intelligence officers had managed to uncover the information from his conversations as part of Operation Venetic which showed he had been importing several kilograms of cocaine from the North West to this region.

The intelligence suggested around 6kg of cocaine with a potential street value of £600,000 had been supplied through the criminal activities.

Chambers would send messages from his handle to an accomplice in the North West who then orchestrated the meetings between the pair.

To the surprise of investigating officers, the meeting at which they were arrested was made because Chambers had been unhappy with the quality of a consignment of what was said to be cocaine and was granted a refund.

As the Durham investigation took shape, Sinclair was also caught with £223,870 in cash in his car in the Cambridge area.

Chambers, 32, of Greenhalgh, near Preston, and 44-year-old Sinclair, of Hutton Row, South Shields, were both subsequently charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Sinclair was also charged with being in possession of criminal property after being found with the cash.

As Chambers failed to attend his trial a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He appeared back before the court via video link from HMP Preston after being arrested in October.

Chambers admitted a new charge of failing to surrender to the court over his non-attendance at trial, in June.

David Callan, for the defendant, told the court: “He instructs me that it was a last-minute decision not to attend at the trial.

“Having spoken to his legal advisors at the time he did not think he would get a fair trial.

“He discussed it with his girlfriend and gave his father a hug.

“Having only met him today, he struck me as a pleasant, articulate individual with great potential.

“He’s 32 and facing a sentence of 15 years.”

Judge Jo Kidd, who presided over the trial and passed sentence in June, said she recalled that the defendant did have a previous similar offence on his record for which he received a five-year sentence, in Liverpool.

She told Mr Callan: “The information we received at the time of his trial was that he had gone to the Republic of Ireland.

“Whether he went or not, he made a deliberate decision, knowing he faced a trial for serious matters.”

Judge Kidd said she did not see why the defendant should not receive further punishment for failing to attend the trial.

She imposed a two-month sentence for the bail act offence, to be added to the 15-year sentence for the drug supply charge.
 

Both Chambers and Sinclair are subject of crime proceeds inquiries.

Speaking after the trial in June, Detective Inspector Amanda Howe, of Durham Constabulary, said: “Drugs have a detrimental impact upon our communities and we will always do everything in our power to stop and disrupt those supplying and dealing these substances.

“This type of activity will continue under the banner of Operation Sentinel, a partnership initiative targeting serious and organised crime across the region.”