Suspended sentence for Fenland man caught supplying prescription drugs following death of man

A man from Fenland who admitted supplying codeine – a class B prescription only drug – has been sentenced.

On 6 October 2022, police were contacted by the East of England Ambulance Service about the sudden death of a man relating to mixed drugs consumption.

Officers started making enquiries and quickly identified John Bays, 43, as being the last person to speak to the deceased.

Bays was interviewed as a significant witness at his home address in Doddington Road, Wimblington, the same day where he was later arrested after telling officers he had supplied the deceased with codeine tablets the day before his death.

Two boxes of codeine and a tub of green herbal substance, later identified as cannabis, was found during a search of his address, as well as evidence on his mobile phone relating to drug dealing.

Bays appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on Monday (12 February) where he admitted possession with intent to supply of codeine and possession of cannabis.

He was sentenced to ten-months in prison, suspended for 18-months, a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR), and a one-year Drug Rehabilitation Requirement.

Detective Constable Stephanie Dunlop, who investigated, said: “Thanks to the quick work of those involved in making the initial enquiries, we were able to swiftly identify Bays, interview and arrest him for the offence.

“Issues around drug use and drug dealing is a priority for a force, and is something that we are constantly working at tackling, but it couldn’t be done without the help of the public reporting their concerns to us.”