Chesterfield dope dealers foiled by pungent weed whiff as police passed house

Two Chesterfield youths were caught with thousands of pounds worth of cannabis when passing policemen whiffed the pungent weed as a door to the house they were in was opened, a court heard.

Macauley Krence, 18, and Jamie Lenthall, 21, were found with 443 grams of the drug during the raid on April 18, 2021.

With them in the house were also three sets of digital scales and £425 in cash.

A prosecutor told Derby Crown Court the drugs had a street value of up to £4,415.

She described how on the day they were arrested officers were investigating a vehicle crime on Walgrove Steet, Chesterfield.

“The defendant’s mother opened the door, so there was a strong smell of cannabis. Police decided to arrest her and then went inside.

"They found the two defendants in a room.”

An analysis of their phones showed Krence and Lenthall had received multiple requests for drugs since February 2021.

Krence, of Old Road, Chesterfield, and Lenthall, of Medip Crescent, Chesterfield, both admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Judge Jonathan Bennett jailed them both for nine months, however he suspended both sentences for 18 months.

He told them: “There’s evidence you have been dealing for a period of time – the advantage is neither of you have been in trouble before and you are both now working.

"You are both young and you, Mr Krence, were a youth at the time.”

Krence was handed 220 hours of unpaid work. Lenthall was given 80 hours and a three-month curfew.