Biggleswade drug-dealer who appeared on 24 Hours in Police Custody jailed again – 3 months after prison release
A criminal who appeared on 24 Hours in Police Custody for his part in the Biggleswade drugs network has been sent back to jail.
Oliver Hamilton was originally jailed in August 2023 for drugs offences – and was featured on the Channel 4 show in December.
But months after the 23-year-old was released in December 2024, evidence from a seized phone showed he was using a runner to continue his drug-dealing business.
Police raided a flat in Stotfold in February and found two phones belonging to him. Cell mast data showed both phones had moved to Hamilton’s family home over Christmas, where he was continuing to text customers about where they could pick-up drugs.
On Friday (March 21), Hamilton, of Valerian Way, Stotfold, was convicted for supplying cannabis and jailed for one year at Luton Crown Court. The judge also sentenced him to serve the remainder of his initial eight-year term.
In the same week, Bedfordshire Police’s specialist team jailed a second Biggleswade drug dealer for more than five years.
The unrelated investigation began in January 2023 after Alexander Clarke was involved in a collision in West Road, Sandy.
The 24-year-old tried to flee the scene but was detained by witnesses until police arrived.
When police searched him, they found more than £1,000 in cash. He was later arrested on suspicion of driving offences and his phone was seized.
But when the phone was analysed, police found a string of messages linking him to the supply of illegal drugs.
Whilst on bail, Clarke was detained in Buckinghamshire in April 2024 where a second phone was seized, which unveiled further drug dealing activity.
In August 2024, he was arrested on suspicion of numerous drug offences at a house in Buckden – where police found wraps of cannabis, cocaine, digital scales and three phones.
On Thursday (March 20), Clarke of Malthouse Court, Leafield, Oxfordshire, was sentenced to five and a half years in jail at Luton Crown Court, after being convicted of six drugs offences relating to the supply of cocaine and cannabis and two counts of possession of items purchased through the proceeds of crime.
Detective Constable Adam Geary, from the Boson guns and gangs team, said: “We know that Biggleswade has felt the knock-on effects of drug-related crimes with issues like anti-social behaviour and violence.
“Community officers have been working alongside local residents to identify drug dealing hotspots and target those fuelling the issue for their own illicit gain. Thanks to reports from you, our local community, we’ve seen the overall crime figure for Biggleswade drop by more than 5 per cent with reported offences around drugs more than halved in the past 12 months.
“But we can’t stop there, it is vital that we continue to work together and make Biggleswade uninhabitable for people like Hamilton and Clarke whose ill intentions have seen them put behind bars."
Anyone with concerns about drug dealing can report it to police online or on 101, or via Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.