Suspicious smell led police dogs to bags of cannabis

FOUR men arrested because their car smelt of cannabis have been found guilty of dealing drugs.

The four appeared at Chichester Crown Court last week, charged with possession with intent to supply more than 9,000 worth of the drug, found when a police dog unit stopped a BMW in Lyminster Road in January, 2009, and noticed an "overpowering smell of cannabis".

Inside were several bags of the drug, and searches at two addresses in Littlehamptron and Arundel later found even more. About 3,000 cash was also seized by police.

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Aaron Benson, 20, formerly of Lloyd Goring Close, Angmering, pleaded guilty and was handed a 26-week suspended sentence and ordered to attend a drug rehabilitation programme.

Warren Damerel, 20, formerly of Shaftesbury Road, Rustington, and Tony Jackman, 23, and James Perilli, 25, both formerly of Howard Road, Arundel, all denied the charges, but were found guilty after a six-day trail.

Damerel received a 33-week suspended sentence, Jackman was jailed for 12 months and Perilli for 14 months.

DC David Midgley of Arun CID said: "This pro-active stop has resulted in 9,000 of cannabis being removed from the streets of Sussex.

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"The 3,000 seized from the offenders will no doubt be missed by them.

"This money will be put back into the residents of Sussex, who we serve, through various schemes to reduce crime and target criminals."

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