PRESS RELEASE : Two drug suppliers will spend longer in prison – Keith Davis and Andrew Gurney [September 2022]

The press release issued by the Attorney General on 21 September 2022.

Two prolific drug suppliers will spend longer in prison after their sentences were referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme by the then Solicitor General Edward Timpson CBE KC MP.

Keith Davis, 56, from Buckinghamshire, and Andrew Gurney, 51, from Birmingham, were both involved in a professional conspiracy to produce tons of amphetamine sulphate, a class B drug. Davis was also involved in further conspiracies to produce other drugs.

Both offenders were involved in the construction and operation of a laboratory that was capable of producing 136kg of amphetamine sulphate per week, meaning that around 6 tons of the drug with a wholesale value of £11m could have been produced during the laboratory’s period of operation between June 2020 and April 2021.

On 10 June 2022, at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court, Davis was sentenced to 5 years and 3 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to supply and produce a class B drug and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Gurney was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to produce a class B drug and possession of criminal property.

Following the sentencing, the then Solicitor General referred the sentences of both offenders to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme as he felt that they were too low.

On 21 September 2022, the Court found the sentences of both Davis and Gurney to be unduly lenient. Davis received a new sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, while Gurney will now also serve a sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

Speaking after the hearing, the newly appointed HM Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson MP said:

The illegal and dangerous drugs produced and supplied by both Davis and Gurney will have ruined lives, and so I am satisfied with the decision of the Court to order both offenders to serve longer prison terms.

The new sentences are a better reflection of the seriousness of the crime of drug dealing and supplying at this level.