Crime
Licensee admits plotting to sell drugs
Toni Sheard, 29, general manager of the Tamworth Arms appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Monday 25 July along with 49-year-old John Robinson. Sheard pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs and possession of criminal property.
Robinson, of Church Street, Croydon, also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs and possession of criminal property.
The pub was a Young's site until 2007 when it was threatened with being built into flats by a developer before being saved.
However the current owner More Inn, which took over management in 2014, surrendered its licence following the drugs raid this year.
Site searched
The pair are due to be sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Friday 2 September.
The Metropolitan Police visited the Croydon-based pub on 21 May to carry out a full search of the site and discovered a block of cannabis resin and bags containing white powder in the cellar.
Selling drugs
Detective Constable Tom Sole of the Met Police said: “This couple used the pub as a front to sell drugs. Throughout the investigation, Sheard denied all knowledge of the drugs we discovered in her cellar.
“It is clear that the overwhelming evidence we gathered against the pair was enough for them to realise that they had no option but to plead guilty.”
According to reports, the pub had its license suspended last year after police raided and found large quantities of drugs on the premises.
Earlier this year, a teetotaller fractured a licensee's jaw at Teign Brewery Inn, Teignmouth, Devon.
