West End 'chemsex' party drug suppliers jailed

Jailed: James Shugg, left, Alejandro Montes-Bailon, centre, and Sara Bleta, right
Metropolitan Police
WEST END FINAL

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A gang of three people responsible for supplying drugs at West End ‘chemsex’ parties have been jailed for a total of 11 years.

Officers began investigating their activities after it was suspected illnesses and injuries linked to crystal meth, methedrone, LSD, cocaine and date-rape drug GHB were occurring in Soho.

James Shugg, Sara Bleta and Alejandro Montes-Bailon were all jailed on Monday, March 20, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply both Class A and Class B drugs.

On August 25, 2015 Westminster Crime Squad officers raided addresses in Newton Street and Drury Lane, where they found a quantity of Class A drugs.

Police say there was also evidence that both addresses were being used for ‘chemsex’ parties.

Shugg, 53, of Drury Lane, Camden, and Montes-Bailon, 26, of Newton Street, Camden, were arrested at the scene.

Further raids were carried out at the Drury Lane address the following month, where Bleta, a 20-year-old woman, was arrested in possession of a larger quantity of Class A drugs.

Shugg was jailed for five years, Bleta, of Union Court, Richmond, for four and Montes-Bailon for two years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

All will serve concurrent sentences for conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.

DS Vince Abrahart, from the Westminster Crime Squad, said: "During the investigation it was shown that the effects of the mixtures of these drugs used at 'chemsex' parties can prove fatal.

“The reckless supply of these drugs had to be stemmed.

Jailed: Gang of three who supplied drugs to West-End 'chemsex' parties
Metropolitan Police

"The sentences handed down to those involved show that the dealers of these dangerous substances will be brought to justice and made to pay for their criminal actions.

"Shugg, Bleta and Montes-Bailon formed a supply network to distribute wholesale quantities of drugs to a large client base they built up through social media and word of mouth referrals.

"As a result of these arrests and charges, significant quantities of Class A and B drugs have been seized and this criminal network has been broken up."

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