Drug dealer charged after taking £12,000 on chip and pin device

Mark Slender, also known as Mark Wilson, Guppy and Gup Credit: Gloucestershire Constabulary

A drug dealer has been sentenced after taking £12,000 worth of transactions through a chip and pin device, where he displayed his nickname on receipts thanking his buyers.

Mark Slender, also known as Mark Wilson, Guppy and Gup, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of Class A cocaine with intent to supply at Gloucester Crown Court today (Friday 16 September).

The 35-year-old was arrested following a warrant at his home on Deacons Place in Bishops Cleeve on Friday 19 August.

During the search, officers from Tewkesbury seized around £5,800 worth of drugs, including cocaine with a purity of 93% - one of the highest purity cocaine seizures in Gloucestershire recently.

A large amount of cash, a large quantity of small zip lock plastic bags and digital scales, contaminated with cocaine and cannabis, were also seized.

One of the leading pieces of evidence which helped Gloucestershire Constabulary convict Slender, were the receipts from a chip and pin reader he invested in. He took card payments via this device, as an alternative to cash transactions, and provided users who bought the drugs from him with a receipt which read ‘Cheers, Gup’.

Officers seized around £5,800 worth of drugs Credit: PA Images

The card reader, which was plugged into his vehicle charging when seized by police, recorded almost £12,000 worth of drug deals between Monday 21 March and Monday 15 August. This is believed to be the first time in Gloucestershire that a drug dealer has used a chip and pin device to take payment for drugs.

PC Thom Finnikin, of the Tewkesbury policing team, said: “Slender appears to have made a considerable profit dealing drugs and tried to conceal his financial gain by investing in expensive items. We seized pieces of designer clothing and gold sovereigns, worth in excess of £10,000, which we believe were bought with his drug money.

“He attempted to bring drug dealing into the 21st century by using a chip and pin machine to take payment for cocaine and subsequently showed his arrogance by putting a tag line at the top of each receipt supplied to his drug buyers.

“Slender has extensive previous convictions for drugs supply. He was making a considerable profit in his illicit trade and I would like to thank the members of the community who provided the intelligence which led to his apprehension.”