Mark Bramwell found guilty of drugs offences (From York Press)

Mark Bramwell found guilty of drugs offences

8:34am Thursday 17th December 2009

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FORMER businessman Mark Bramwell believed the 149 tablets he wanted to sell to his friends were Ecstasy, York Crown Court heard. He turned out to be wrong, but he still ended up in jail for drugs offences because he thought the tablets were illegal.

Police found the tablets, as well as eight genuine Ecstasy tablets and small amounts of cocaine and cannabis, when they raided Bramwell’s home in the autumn of last year and arrested him, the court heard.

Recorder Andrew Campbell QC told him: “Those people who are involved in, or may be tempted to get involved in, either the supply of Class A drugs or possessing what they think, albeit mistakenly, are Class A drugs with intent to supply, will meet with punishment when they are caught.

“Certainly this is not a case of someone who has supplied drugs on any regular basis for a commercial motive. But I take the view that you were prepared to sell them, perhaps to advance your social network or to curry favour with your friends.” The court heard that the 149 tablets mimicked the effects of Ecstasy but did not have illegal substances in them.

Bramwell, 46, of Buckingham Terrace, South Bank, York, who has run several small businesses in the past, was jailed for 21 months.

He had denied attempting to possess 149 Ecstasy tablets with intent to supply, but was found guilty of the offence by a jury. He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing eight Ecstasy tablets, possessing cocaine and possessing cannabis.

Prosecutor Alan Mitcheson said Bramwell had told the jury he had acquired the drugs because he was a prolific user, and that he had bought them in bulk because it was cheaper that way. His intention was they would last him through the Christmas period.

In mitigation, Nicholas Barker said: “He’s (Bramwell) impressed many people who declare a degree of warmth towards him that is often not found for those who appear in these courts. He is a much-respected and well-liked individual.” He said “grave misfortune” had befallen Bramwell in the period leading up to the offences. He had lost a close friend to suicide and his father had died.

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