AN ONGAR man jailed for his role in a £2.5m cocaine dealing plot has failed to convince judges that his 10-year prison sentence was excessive.
John Terrance Tripp, 29, of Elmbridge Hall, Fyfield Road, was caught out after police discovered large quantities of the class A drug at the homes of his accomplices.
Tripp was imprisoned for 10 years when he appeared at Blackfriars Crown Court, in London, in October and admitted two counts of conspiring to supply cocaine.
On April 23, Tripp challenged his sentence via video link at London's Criminal Appeal Court where his lawyers argued his sentence was "too long" for his crimes.
However his appeal was dismissed by three of the country's most senior judges who said the term was "not excessive" given his persistent determination to deal drugs.
The court heard Tripp was involved with two conspiracies between August and December 2011, continuing to offend even after his accomplice in the first plot had been arrested.
Police began to close in on him in August 2011 when they stopped Michael Morrison with a bag containing nearly a kilo of almost pure cocaine.
Tripp then contacted Morrison's brother Stephen, who removed drugs and other equipment from his brother's flat.
During their investigation, officers found a haul of drugs with a potential street value – if the drugs had been diluted as planned – of £2.5m.
Tripp continued offending undeterred by the arrest of the Morrison brothers and police saw him and Daniel Flynn leave Flynn's east London home in November 2011 and watched as Flynn dumped a carrier bag in a bin.
The bag was found to contain a mixing bowl and a blender and plastic bags, which all bore traces of cocaine and cutting agents.
Flynn was caught with nearly half a kilo of cocaine in December after police stopped a mini cab he was travelling in.
Michael Morrison, 34, of Radnor Street, Clerkenwell, was jailed for six years after admitting possession of cocaine with intent to supply cocaine and his brother Stephen, 44, of the same address, was handed 18 months after he admitted perverting the course of justice.
Flynn, 28, of Bunhill Row, Clerkenwell, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after admitting possession with intent to supply.
Mobile phone analysis revealed Tripp had been in touch with both the Morrison brothers and Flynn, and his fingerprints were found on some equipment.
When Tripp was arrested he was driving a £25,000 car and a search of his home revealed a number of "high-value" items and £1,900 cash, despite the fact he was unemployed.
The court heard he had previously served time for burglary and had a legitimate job for some time following his release from that sentence.
Tripp's lawyers argued his jail term was excessive, saying the crown court judge didn't take enough account of the fact he had managed to hold down a legitimate job for a while.
Yet Judge Michael Pert QC dismissed his appeal and said there was no reason to think the judge hadn't considered this when sentencing Tripp.
Sitting with Lady Justice Hallett and Mr Justice Bean, he added: "He entered into a serious criminal conspiracy, knowing his accomplices in the first conspiracy had been arrested.
"It is true he had worked legitimately on release from prison after his sentence for the burglary offence, but in our judgement, there is no basis for the assertion that the judge hadn't had those matters well in mind in arriving at the sentence."
