A professional rugby player has been jailed after trying to swallow 50 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin during a police chase.
Lewis Szewczyk jumped over fences through back gardens while running from police and tried to swallow drugs he was hoping to sell when they caught him.
A witness filmed officers trying to convince the 27-year-old to spit the drugs out in his garden after he was tackled to the ground.
The court heard Szewczyk had a promising career in rugby before becoming addicted to drugs and turning to dealing to maintain his habit.
Defending, James McCrindall said: ‘He is a man now aged 27 years who comes from a very good and stable home, living with his parents and an older sister.
‘He was fortunate enough to get what he describes as a very good education. He attended the St Paul’s school, a good private school and it was at that school that he had the good fortune to develop a great skill for rugby, playing that sport at a very high level.’
Szewczyk, of no fixed address, had previously been arrested when he tried to sell drugs at the Bestival music festival on the Isle of Wight three years ago.
He served a two-year suspended sentence in 2017 for drug dealing and was jailed last year for possessing a knife in a public place.
Reading Crown Court yesterday sentenced him to 28 months in jail and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of just under £200.
Mr McCrindall told the judge Szewczyk excelled in rugby at the prestigious private school and got a contract with the London Irish rugby club, a well known league club, before a ‘severe injury to both his knees’.
Rhian Wood, prosecuting, said: ‘Officers stayed in the vicinity for a short time and later police saw two suspected drug users making a hand-to-hand exchange with the defendant near a children’s play park.
‘The defendant tried to evade police and climbed over fences of several houses in Avon Place before he was restrained.’
In footage from Lokeman Ali, who filmed the arrest in his garden, officers could be heard saying: ‘Just spit them out, spit them out, there’s loads coming out of your mouth.
‘Another 20 is not going to make any difference to the amount we’ve got. Do you understand? It won’t make any difference now, to you.’
Mr McCrindall asked the judge to adjourn the sentencing hearing so a pre-sentence report could be prepared which could explore options other than immediate custody.
But the judge told Szewczyk: ‘Your activities were in broad daylight close to a children’s playground.
‘Despite your considerable efforts, after a chase police officers were able to apprehend and restrain you.
‘During a struggle, you tried to swallow some of your drug deals, you seemed determined to do this despite the obvious risks to your own safety.
‘It was only due to the professionalism of the officers that this was unsuccessful.
‘It has been suggested to me that I should adjourn your case for a pre-sentence report to explore other options. That submission is misconceived and only an immediate custodial sentence can be imposed today.’
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