Officers followed the vehicle off the slip road to the A331, where the vehicle almost collided with a silver Mercedes coming off the slip road. Officers managed to stop the vehicle on North Lane, Aldershot. When they approached the driver, there was only one person in the car ‘Stephen’, which transpired to be a false name. He claimed he was rushing from his sister’s house so he could take medication for various medical conditions and was ‘desperate for the toilet’.

When officers carried out checks of the vehicle, they found it was registered to a different person, who he alleged was his friend and he was looking to buy the car off of them. Officers noticed that something wasn’t right, and the man appeared to be nervous. A search of the car was conducted under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, where a mobile phone, a bank card with the name ‘Andrew Charalambous’, and a till receipt containing a small amount of white rock suspected to be Class A drugs was found. Officers continued their search of the vehicle and found a carrier bag which contained a package wrapped in tape in a hide in the vehicle. Inside the package were white rocks which officers believed to be Class A drugs.

When challenged about his identity again, ‘Stephen’ later admitted that he was in fact, Andrew Charalambous.

Charalambous was arrested for a number of offences including, on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

Andrew Charalambous, 61 (D.O.B 05/04/1964) from Camberley appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Monday, 27 October and was sentenced to 4 years 4 months.

The officer who investigated the case said: “Officers on routine patrol followed their instincts and through their natural curiosity, challenged the suspects account when things weren’t adding up. It led to a significant amount of drugs being located and removed from the streets, preventing harm being caused to our communities. Drugs ruin lives. And Surrey Police is committed to rooting out individuals who come into our county to supply drugs, rigorously disrupting, investigating and relentlessly pursuing a successful prosecution”.

If you are concerned about drug use or drug dealing in your area, you can contact us anonymously, online through the Surrey Police website or via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always dial 999.

What are the signs of potential drug dealing?

• Lots of visitors, who don’t stay very long, arriving at all times of the day and night
• People waiting in cars outside particular properties exchanging small packets or cash
• Lots of visitors bringing items such as TVs or bikes but leaving empty handed
• Lone/vulnerable neighbours suddenly having groups of young men living at their address

What we want to know:

• Time, date and place
• Vehicle registrations and the make, model and colour
• Descriptions of people and details of what they were doing