Crawley man with £300,000 in car drove to 'give friend haircut'

Ricky Lewis, from Crawley drove to Deal, in Kent in the middle of the lockdown period on May 9 and was stopped by officers who suspected he may have been involved in drug dealing.

At this time, the Government's Stay Home advice was in full force and people were urged not to travel unless it was essential.

Lewis told officers he had made the long drive from Sussex to Kent to give a friend a haircut.

But when officers searched the boot of Ricky Lewis's car, they uncovered more than £300,000 in bank notes.

The 35-year-old claimed he was clueless as to how the huge sum of cash had ended up in the back of his rented Renault Clio.

He then refused to answer any further questions on the source of the money - £314,885 split between two large bags in the boot of the car.

Investigating further, police travelled to his home in Wakefield Drive and searched the premises, finding a Taser.

Lewis was charged with possession of criminal property and unlawful possession of a weapon, later admitting both charges at Canterbury Crown Court June 8.

He was jailed for two years and two months on Friday, July 24.

Detective inspector Emma Lawry, Kent Police's senior investigating officer, said: "Lewis was found in a hire car with a huge amount of money, the origin of which he has repeatedly refused to explain.

"I would like to commend the alertness of our local officers on the night, which has resulted in a considerable amount of criminal property being removed from circulation.

"Kent Police will not tolerate offenders coming into our county from others area of the country and we will do everything we can to disrupt their operations and seize property."