A former boxer who fled to Ireland, Thailand and Mexico to avoid being arrested for supplying cocaine to a dealer in Cheltenham has been jailed.
Lennox Clarke, 33, from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, was sentenced to six years and four months in prison after Gloucestershire Police found he had met Ben Goff, a Cheltenham drug dealer, at least 12 times.
The former British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion had a previous conviction for supplying Class B drugs in 2012 and was told by the judge at Gloucester Crown Court that he had not learned his lesson.
Det Insp Matt Phillips said he hoped Clarke’s sentencing “gave confidence to the community” in reporting drug concerns.
‘Clandestine’ meetings
Clarke will serve 317 days less in custody for time spent on curfew.
At various points of his boxing career, from 2013 to 2022, Clarke held the titles of British Masters Bronze super-middleweight, British and Commonwealth super-middleweight and IBO Continental super-middleweight.
Det Insp Phillips said Gloucestershire Police started receiving information about suspicious activity and drug dealing happening in Cheltenham in autumn 2023.
“That investigation led us to Ben Goff, an individual who had just moved back to Gloucestershire, and through him we made the link to Lennox Clarke,” he said.
Det Insp Phillips said Clarke was on the run for “some time” [BBC]
Suspicion was raised by the number of times Goff travelled from his home in Cheltenham to the West Midlands for “short-term, fairly clandestine” meetings with Clarke, Det Insp Phillips said.
Police intervened after observing a meeting and arrested Goff, who was sentenced last year after selling drugs collected from Clarke to his Gloucestershire customers.
“Just after Goff got arrested, Clarke decided to go on the run for a number of months, initially staying in local hotels for a couple of nights, we think, trying to understand whether the police were coming for him,” Det Insp Phillips said.
“Then, he went out through Wales to Ireland, and spent some time on the run in Thailand, Mexico and other places until he returned to the UK and was arrested.”
Det Insp Phillips said he hoped Clarke’s sentencing encouraged those concerned about drug dealing in their area to come forward as officers would “take it seriously”.
Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Read the full article here