A Bournemouth man has been jailed for 33 months for selling legal highs that contained controlled drugs.
John Richard Isaacs, 45, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday 19 May after pleading guilty the same day to possession with intent to supply class B and C drugs.
The court heard that on 5 October 2010 Isaacs was arrested on suspicion of drug offences and admitted selling legal highs via a website he operated. The drugs were sent for testing and some were found to contain class B and class C drugs.
Isaacs pleaded guilty on 17 February 2012 to three counts of possession of class B and C drugs with intent to supply and was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100-hours unpaid work.
Following intelligence, officers executed a warrant at his home in Portchester Road on 6 June 2012. A quantity of drugs was found and Isaacs was arrested for possession with intent to supply.
Isaacs was charged on 25 February 2013 with four counts of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs and three counts of being concerned in the supply of class C drugs.
The case did not come to court until May this year after the hearing was adjourned while Isaacs attempted to find a forensic expert he claimed would prove previous tests on the substances were inaccurate.
He was unsuccessful and admitted six of the seven offences.
After his conviction in 2012, the courts ordered confiscation proceedings to be made against Isaacs and on 19 December 2013 a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court made a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 which instructed Isaacs to pay £70,000 he had made from his criminal activity.
The order was settled in full from assets previously confiscated at the start of the investigation.
Detective Constable Jon Sainsbury, of Bournemouth CID, said: “Legal highs are a real danger. This case proves that when you buy so-called legal highs you don’t really know what you are putting in your body and very often the person selling them doesn’t know what they contain.
“I hope this sentence sends out a very strong message that selling drugs in Dorset will not be tolerated. Not only will you face a lengthy prison sentence but we will also seize assets made from criminal activity.”
