Coventry drug dealer 'nobbled juror and recruited witnesses'

The Old Bailey jury has been told that Leslie Allen was jailed in 2018 after being convicted at his previous trial

A drugs kingpin allegedly nobbled a juror and recruited witnesses to lie for him at his trial, a court heard.

Leslie Allen made a "concerted attempt" to evade justice at Warwick Crown Court in 2018, the Old Bailey was told.

While on bail, Allen allegedly orchestrated two people to lie for him, with one even winking at a juror from the witness box.

Allen, Damien Drackley, Laurence Hayden and Mark Walker all deny conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

'Clearest evidence'

Opening the trial at the Old Bailey earlier, Tony Badenoch KC described Allen as a "major drugs wholesaler", who had both the money and motive to evade justice.

Jurors have been told 66-year-old Allen's attempts to evade justice failed and he was jailed for 13 years in 2018.

Outlining the latest case, Mr Badenoch accused Allen of offering "financial incentives" to 37-year-old juror Mr Drackley, from Nuneaton, and recruiting Mr Hayden, 53 and from Coventry, and Mr Porter, from Birmingham, to lie on oath.

"In this case there is the clearest evidence of jury tampering and falsifying evidence all for one purpose - seeking to pervert the course of justice," said Mr Badenoch.

The prosecutor told the court Mr Porter claimed the drugs were in fact his and that when Mr Hayden gave evidence, he winked at Mr Drackley.

'Wasn't as it seemed'

Mr Badenoch said Allen deployed Mr Walker, 57 and of Coventry, to work in the background, passing on messages and information, and that Mr Drackley's mother Lorraine Frisby, served as an intermediary.

Jurors heard the drugs charges against Allen arose in 2016 when 1kg of cocaine, with a street value of £100,000, was seized from his Jaguar car, along with £50,000 of cannabis in laundry bags at his house in Coventry.

The defendant had CCTV at the premises and investigators uncovered images of him carrying the bags, the court was told.

Mr Badenoch said: "The principal issue in the case was knowledge of the drugs. Leslie Allen gave his own evidence and called other evidence in his own case, including from Daniel Porter and Laurence Hayden, to disavow knowledge of the drugs and explain the content of text messages recovered from a phone."

The prosecutor said the trial was on the face of it "unexceptional" but added: "It wasn't as it seemed... it was something very different, not least because the defendant Leslie Allen had a man on the jury - Damien Drackley."

'Sort you out'

Jurors were told of a pattern of phone calls between the defendants, including one in which Mr Walker allegedly called Frisby for more than seven minutes two days before the jury began deliberating.

She then called her son and told him Allen "would sort you out" with "a lot more than" a gym membership, the court was told, adding he had told her it made him "feel better to know he's got a face on the jury".

After the first day of jury retirement, prosecutors said Mr Drackley discussed with his mother what he would spend the money on and talked about the case at length, including how many jurors were in favour of a not guilty verdict or unsure.

The court heard he volunteered to be jury foreman but was unsuccessful in his bid.

Mr Drackley allegedly went on to tell his girlfriend £5,000 was coming his way, the court was told.

Jurors heard Frisby, 55, from Birmingham, has already admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, and Porter had since died.

The trial continues.