Drugs: Couple supplied cocaine to their friends
Two fee-earners at conveyancing giant ONP Solicitors have been disqualified from the profession after they were jailed for drug dealing.
Alexandra Ditcham and Jordan Heeley were both case managers in the remortgage department of Stockport-based ONP, according to notices published last week by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
It said that, in April 2021, the police carried out a search of Mr Heeley’s property in Macclesfield, while Ms Ditcham was also present, and found “items related to the use and sale of illegal drugs”.
In March 2023, both pleaded guilty at Crewe Magistrates’ Court to offences of being concerned in the supply of cocaine, while Mr Heeley also pleaded guilty to concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property.
They were each sentenced at Chester Crown Court to 28 months’ imprisonment; no separate penalty was issued in respect of Mr Heeley’s second offence.
According to media reports at the time, they sold cocaine to their friends at social gatherings and made a £13,000 profit in just 10 weeks.
The judge, His Honour Judge Steven Everett, was quoted by the Manchester Evening News as saying: “You have fantastic references from supportive family and friends, many professionals, many who are utterly dismayed you are in this position, that you are good people. But despite all of that, you made a financial decision that you were going to make some money selling cocaine.
“It does not matter if it is friends or acquaintances, you are selling to other people, cocaine users for profit and a pretty significant profit. In my judgement I do not think it was low level, this was a significant profit, making around £5,000 per month, effectively tax free.
“You would have made £60,000 a year on top of your salaries. It just shows that the profits that can be made even if you are selling to a relatively small circle of friends and acquaintances.
“I have taken into account your naivety, your stupidity but you are no different from many that appear before me and you have to be treated the same way.”
As ONP is an alternative business structure, they were disqualified from working in SRA-regulated law firms under section 99 of the Legal Services Act 2007.
Meanwhile, the SRA has imposed a section 99 order on Jack Fitzsimmons, formerly a civil litigation executive at Manchester firm Antony Hodari, who was found in possession of a kilo of cocaine in July 2023 when police searched his car.
The police investigation revealed that he was “heavily involved in the supply of class A and class B drugs”, the SRA said.
Mr Fitzsimmons pleaded guilty and was convicted in August 2023 of possession with intent to supply a class A controlled drug (cocaine) and being concerned in the supply of two controlled class B drugs, cannabis and amphetamines.
He was jailed for 68 months for the first offence and 21 months for each of the other two, with the sentences running concurrently.
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