Man given 37-month sentence for drug dealing after Stowmarket stop

A man from Coventry has been jailed for 37 months for drug dealing offences after being arrested in Stowmarket last year.

Alban Rustemi, (pictured above) of Gosford Street, Coventry, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday, February 24, after pleading guilty to being in possession of a controlled drug (cocaine) with the intent to supply.

The 29-year-old was stopped by officers from Suffolk Constabularies Sentinel West ANPR team on Kestrel Drive, Stowmarket, in September 2024.

Officers searched his vehicle and located a hide in the rear of the vehicle containing 38 bags of powder cocaine.

Rustemi initially entered a not guilty plea at all of his court hearings. However, officers used mobile phone data and expert evidence to build a strong case with Rustemi changing to a guilty plea on the day of his trial.

He was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment, ordered to pay £228 in costs, while the court ordered the forfeiture of his vehicle along with the mobile phones and drugs seized.

PC Harry Tully said: “Despite Rustemi’s fictitious claims of why and how he came to be in Suffolk with this quantity of drugs, we were able to put together a strong case utilising phone data and expert drug evidence which ended up been so successful he was left with no option but to plead guilty at the last minute.

“We will continue to robustly target those involved in organised crime in Suffolk and go to great lengths to ensure those involved are put behind bars.”