News Heroin dealer


sent to prison AMANwho “broughtmisery to the most vulnerable in our communi- ties” has been jailed.


Maidstone drug


dealer Peter Mills was sentenced to four years and six months in prison after


pleading


guilty to posses- sionofheroinwith intent to supply.


Mills (43), of BoxleyRoad,was ar-


rested near his home on December 11 after plain clothes police officers spottedknowndrugusers gathering outside an address. He was stopped when he left the


property with his left hand in the front pocket of a hooded top, and the officers found heroin in his fist. A search of his pockets found an- other 30 deals of the drug. A mobile phone that was con-


stantly ringing with callers asking for drugs was found in his house, and the drugs were confirmed as heroinwith a street value of £560. In interview, Millsdenieddealing


drugs and could not account for the phone calls. Chief Inspector Mark Hedges


said: “This man has received a prison sentence for bringingmisery to the most vulnerable in our com- munities.My officers will not hesi- tate to stopandsearchanybody they suspect to be concerned in the sup- ply of heroin or crack cocaine.”


Police’s open


door tosuspect A HEROIN dealer from East Malling has been jailed after knock- ing on the door while police searched an address inMaidstone. Michael Dunn, of Elm Crescent,


East Malling, was in possession of heroin worth almost £3,000 and a lock knifewhen arrested. After being found guilty of pos-


session of heroinwith intent to sup- ply and possessing a bladed article in a public place at Maidstone Crown Court on ThursdayMay 31, the 45-year-old was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Dunn was arrested when he


knockedonthe frontdoor of ahouse that was being searched by plain- clothes officers inWoollett Street. When the officer answered the


door,Dunn ran off towards County Road – andwas seen rolling a pack- age on the floor. When he was arrested, the knife


and £700 were found in his pocket, and the package was found to con- tain 27.6g of heroin, with an esti- mated street value of up to £2,760.


20 Maidstone July 2018


downsmail.co.uk


Rescue dog Sprocket finds lost pensioner


THE grateful family of a pensioner are raisingmoney for Kent Search and Rescue after hewas found inMaidstone, four days after goingmissing. Dennis Whyard (89), was re-


portedmissing fromthe ForestHill area of the town on Friday, June 1. Hewas seen in the BucklandHill


area later that day, walking up to- wardsMaidstone Barracks station. Kent Police were joined by Kent


Fire and Rescue and volunteers fromKent Search and Rescue char- ity in a search of the area, including business premises and private gar- dens. Public appeals were issued, urg-


ing people to check sheds and out- buildings, while a number of local shops gave CCTV footage to assist. Officers and PCSOs, along with


local council CCTV operators, ex- amined hours of footage and a breakthrough came on Monday, June 4,when a PSCOspotted himin CCTVfootage fromthe day hewent missing, at a business in St Peter’s Street. That then helped to narrow the


search and a further sighting froma private camera in Buckland Road showed him walking towards a school on the same day. Search crews then began a


painstaking search of fields and woodland towards Allington, and at about 10pm on Tuesday, June 5, search and rescue dog Sprocket


DennisWhyard


took handlers towards under- growth in some woodland and Mr Whyardwas found. He was in a very frail condition


andwas treated in hospital after re- ceiving immediate first aid. Writing on Facebook, Mr Wh-


yard’s son,Mick, said: “We are truly overwhelmed by your support in sharing our appeals and assisting in variouswayswith the search. “Andwe are incredibly grateful to


KSARand the search dogs.Without this amazing charity and all the vol- unteerswhowork tirelessly helping


families like ours, Dennis certainly would not be here today. “Wewill be doing our bit in help-


ing to increase awareness about KSARand hope you can support us with a much-needed donation to- wards vital equipment (and a T- bone steak for Sprocket the rescue dog) so they can continue with the extraordinary job of saving lives across Kent.” Chief Inspector Mark Hedges


said: “I am really pleased that this vulnerableman has been found safe andwell, following a distressing or- deal for both himand his family. “I would commend the exhaus-


tive efforts of my officers, crews from Kent Fire and Rescue Service and, in particular, the Kent Search andRescue volunteerswhowere in- valuable. It is incredible that 184 people gave up more than 3,000 hours of their own time to help. “I am also mindful of local busi-


nesses, shops and residentswho as- sisted with the examination of CCTV, checked their own outbuild- ings, sheds and gardens and shared the appeal online.” TheWhyard family’s appeal can


be found at http://bit.ly/Wh- yardDM.


Superintendent John Phillips with some of the visitors fromthe Indian Police Service Indian police learn fromKent force


SENIOR officers fromthe Indian Po- lice Service have visited Maidstone as part of a training programme. One hundred senior officers at-


tended the Kent Police College to learn how the force tackles cyber- crime, policing its ports and serious and organised crime. Theywere also keen to learn about its intelligence and police information systems.


Superintendent John Phillips said:


“Despite having a population of about 20 times that of the UK, many of the policing challenges faced in India are not dissimilar to those experienced here in the UK. “The training days have allowed


us to build personal linkswith the In- dian Police Service in addition to lay- ing the foundations for future


co-operation.” The two-day training course, de-


veloped in partnership with the Cambridge University Criminology Faculty, was held at the police col- lege in Coverdale Avenue, Maid- stone, on June 6 and 7. It is intended that similar events


will run with the Indian Police Serv- ice in the future.


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