Marcus Bowles-Dove, 35 from London, was sentenced to four years and four months in prison for being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Tory Marcus James, 26 of London, was jailed for three years and four months and 34-year-old Beata Par, of Bournemouth, received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, as well as possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

They were all sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday 13 April 2023.

Following an investigation, it was found that the three defendants were involved in the supply of class A drugs between London and Bournemouth between Sunday 24 April 2022 and Tuesday 6 September 2022.

Officers from Dorset Police’s Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Neighbourhood Enforcement Team (NET) worked with the Metropolitan Police to execute a number of warrants in London and Bournemouth on Tuesday 6 September 2022.

The activity was part of Op Viper, which sees officers carrying out proactive efforts to disrupt the work of suspected drugs gangs operating in Dorset.

A number of mobile phones were seized at the warrants, as well as quantities of cocaine and heroin.

The three defendants were arrested and subsequently charged.

Police Constable Kirsty Foster, of the BCP NET, said: “We will relentlessly pursue anyone who is supplying drugs in our county and is involved in county lines activity.

“Through joint working with the Metropolitan Police, we were able to take drugs off the streets and help to support vulnerable people at risk of being exploited.

“I hope this case sends a message that we will proactively target anyone who is selling drugs in our county and we will push forward our drive to make Dorset a safe county for everyone.”

The new facilities will form a multi-professional environment for students to train in, under expert supervision of practising clinicians. Among the facilities is an open upright MRI scanner – one of only six in the country – which is helpful for patients who have mobility issues or suffer with claustrophobia and therefore are unable to tolerate the tightly confined space experienced within a standard MRI scanner as they sit and stand, rather than lie inside a tightly confined space.

The university college is also currently developing its simulated education and training facilities, with the development of a digital skills innovation suite incorporating radiology and radiotherapy simulation, immersive virtual reality and high-fidelity mannequins and a digital skills training hub to support educational delivery.

Professor Lesley Haig, vice chancellor of AECC University College, said: “This is a state-of-the-art facility and a flagship development that will make AECC University College one of the national leaders in health sciences education and care – with its heart in the community of Boscombe. Through our facilities the community receives access to practising clinicians across a wide range of healthcare professions, and our students get to learn and practise with cutting-edge technology. This provides a truly inspiring environment in which to delivery excellent education, clinical care and applied research.

“We are supporting Boscombe, Bournemouth and Dorset healthcare providers, working closely with our Dorset CCG partners to help support the healthcare system and provide community diagnostics. With the NHS experiencing additional pressure with Covid-19, we are able to help fill those gaps that we know exist in the system. We have also listened to our partners and where their workforce gaps are. In response to this we have formed an integrated rehabilitation centre – part of that is the new building and also the new services that are being delivered already.

“In five years’ time, AECC University College will be a world-class educational facility in terms of both our equipment and services offered through our clinics and our Imaging Centre of Excellence. We will double our student numbers – this means we can help more students into jobs to help the NHS, but we can also help more people in the community to recover from injury and live better for longer. The University College is working with international partners to collaborate in research developments in rehabilitation sciences, helping to push forward the boundaries of healthcare delivery to optimise patient outcomes.”

The new facilities were enabled by a £2.7million Getting Building Fund grant funding allocation by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), with additional funding provided by the university college.