Chaynee Hodgetts Secures Acquittal in Major Drugs Case

Defence Application Highlights Lack of Evidence and Collapses Prosecution Case

Chaynee Hodgetts, instructed by Mr Darren Hornsby of Robert Lizar Solicitors, secured the collapse of a serious drugs case involving over 23kg of cannabis concealed within furniture destined for export to Ireland.

The case against HT, in Wood Green Crown Court, concerned an allegation of possession with intent to supply (PWITS), arising from the discovery of 23.27kg of cannabis hidden within a sofa intercepted by Police in Staffordshire.

The Prosecution case against HT rested entirely on forensic evidence said to link him to the packaging: specifically, fingerprints said to be his being identified on a plastic bag containing the drugs within the concealed shipment. There was no DNA evidence, no evidence of handling the sofa itself, no evidence of involvement in the logistics of the export, and no communications, financial, or surveillance material connecting HT to the alleged operation.

From the outset, the Defence position was clear: the case was fundamentally incapable of establishing knowledge or control. At its highest, the evidence suggested no more than contact with a movable object at an unknown time, in circumstances entirely consistent with innocent handling of a plastic bag (if, indeed, the identification of the prints was even accurate).

Ms Hodgetts drafted a detailed application to dismiss, drawing on appellate authority confirming that even DNA evidence, without more, may be insufficient to found a conviction where the timing and context of transfer cannot be established – and that the position was stronger still in a fingerprint-only case involving transferable items such as plastic packaging.

The Defence submissions highlighted that there was no evidence capable of establishing when any alleged contact occurred, no evidence linking HT to the concealment, transport, or intended export of the drugs, no evidential basis upon which a jury could safely infer knowledge of the contents of the packaging – and that the Crown’s case, taken at its highest, could not meet the threshold required for a proper conviction.

Before the application was even argued before the Court, the Crown reviewed the position and offered no evidence, stating that: “there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction” – resulting in a Not Guilty verdict for the Client, and securing acquittal without the case even going to trial.