The work of Bridgend County Borough Council’s CCTV team contributed to a recent drugs conviction after an operator noticed some suspicious activity at a street in Bridgend.
The council’s CCTV service is a 24/7 operation which is in place to deter and detect crime, identify offenders for arrest and prosecution as well as reducing the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.
During the early hours of Saturday 28 October, a CCTV operator saw a silver Skoda driven by Joshua Allegretto, 31, pull up on Highland Place, Bridgend, open the bonnet and remove a Lynx deodorant can from underneath the air filter.
He is then seen to remove items from the Lynx can and then sit back in the driver’s seat. At this point two unknown people approach the car and are seen to pay Allegretto with a bank card in return for a bag containing white powder.
Officers traced the car that evening and detained Allegretto for a search. 28 bags of cocaine were found in the Lynx can that was hidden in the bonnet.
A police spokesperson said: “Our CCTV team work closely with South Wales Police to keep our residents safe and this demonstrates that partnership working is essential to improving and maintaining levels of safety within our local communities.
“I’d like to thank our CCTV team for their expertise in noticing that something suspicious was taking place on our streets and for quickly alerting South Wales Police so they could take the appropriate action.
“Cameras are situated at various locations throughout the county borough and CCTV footage is often a valuable part of the evidence gathering process for many cases.”
Cllr Neelo Farr, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Wellbeing
South Wales Police Detective Inspector Ian Jones also highlighted the importance of CCTV in bringing criminals to justice, he said: “Joshua Allegretto’s brazen behaviour in this case highlights how drug dealers think they can openly and illegally operate in our communities. We will continue to tackle illegal drug supply and relentlessly pursue those committing offences.”
Allegretto was arrested and charged with being concerned in the supplying of controlled class A drugs. He pleaded guilty at trial in Cardiff Crown Court and has since been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
