John Hurlock secures acquittals in drug supply trial  

John Hurlock, instructed by Lizzie Sieprawska of Virdee Solicitors, secured unanimous acquittals at Southwark Crown Court for his client (F) who had faced charges of supplying class A and B drugs and possession of criminal property.   

F, a young woman of good character, had been arrested in North-West London in 2024 following police investigations into a drug line operating in the area. On her arrest, (F) was found with 60 wraps of class A drugs on her person, and over £105,000 worth of drugs were later found at her address alongside £7,600 cash. 

F served a defence case statement raising the defences of duress and modern slavery and received a conclusive grounds decision from the National Referral Mechanism identifying her as a victim.  Despite this, the CPS continued the case against her relying on messages found on her device whereby she appeared “friendly”. 

At trial, John adduced F’s previous reports of abuse to the police and served a defence bundle showing images of injuries F had sustained (the images were found within the Police download of F’s mobile phone).  A leading expert in modern slavery, Bernard Gravett, was called by the defence and gave evidence to the jury about the reality of modern slavery, grooming, and the exploitation of women within drug gangs. Psychological expert evidence was also obtained highlighting how F’s diagnoses of ADHD, ADD, and autism made her susceptible to exploitation by these gangs.   The jury at Southwark Crown Court took less than 10 minutes to acquit F.