A drug dealer caught with a stolen Sir Stanley Spencer painting worth £1m and £450,000 worth of drugs has been jailed for nearly nine years.
Harry Fisher, 28, was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison at Kingston crown court on Friday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, acquiring criminal property, and handling stolen goods.
Police from the Met’s organised crime unit arrested Fisher and another man in a Mercedes in June after officers found a kilogram of cocaine and £30,000 in cash during a search of the vehicle in Strood, Kent.
Subsequent searches of properties linked to Fisher and his passenger revealed drugs with an estimated street value of £450,000 and the stolen painting.
The stolen artwork, Cookham from Englefield, was stolen in 2012 from the Stanley Spencer gallery in Berkshire.
The painting is privately owned and had been loaned to the gallery when it was stolen.
Fisher’s passenger, Zak Lal, 32, was also jailed for five years and eight months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, acquiring criminal property, and possession of an offensive weapon.
DI Andy Whitewood, of the Met’s organised crime command, said: “These two men were caught in possession of a considerable amount of class A drugs as the result of a proactive investigation targeting high-end, organised drug supply.
“A search of Fisher’s address revealed a stolen £1m painting. This demonstrates the link between drugs trafficking and serious, acquisitive crime. I am pleased to say that the painting has now been returned to the art gallery from where it was stolen. The guilty pleas entered by both men were due to the weight of the evidence against them and are a testimony to the depth of the investigation.
“The sentences handed to these defendants should act as a deterrent to anyone else involved in the supply of illegal drugs.”
A spokesman for the Stanley Spencer gallery said: “The Stanley Spencer gallery volunteers are immensely grateful to the various police sections who have contributed to the recovery of this remarkable painting which was stolen from us more than five years ago.”
