Harry Fisher, 28, was stopped in June while driving a Mercedes through Strood, Kent, alongside his accomplice Zak Lal, 32
An art connoisseur drug dealer was caught with a stolen £1 million Sir Stanley Spencer landscape when police raided his flat.
Harry Fisher, 28, was stopped in June while driving a Mercedes through Strood, Kent, alongside his accomplice Zak Lal, 32.
Officers discovered a kilogram of cocaine, £30,000 in cash and a knife in Lal’s pocket.
And when officers raided Fisher’s home in Kingston, Surrey, they found the British painter’s landscape Cookham From Edgefield hanging on a wall five years after it was stolen from a gallery.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s organised crime squad discovered the painting along with £450,00 cocaine and 15,000 ecstasy tablets at the flat.
And when officers raided Fisher’s home in Kingston, Surrey, they found the British painter’s landscape Cookham From Edgefield(pictured) hanging on a wall five years after it was stolen from a gallery
The privately owned painting was stolen by an opportunist thief from The Stanley Spencer Gallery Cookham in April 2012 and has now been returned.
Sir Stanley, described as one of the 20th century’s most important artists, was born in 1891 and lived and worked in Cookham, Berkshire.
He was once dubbed ‘the divine fool of British art’, and is considered one of the 20th Century’s most influential UK artists.
Other works by the famous painter have sold for upwards of £5m such as Sunflower and Dog Worship which fetched £5.4m.
Zak Lal, from Rochester in Kent, admitted a charge of possession of an offensive weapon
At Kingston Crown court Fisher pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and acquiring criminal property.
Lal admitted a charge of possession of an offensive weapon.
Lal, of Rochester, Kent, was found to have £2,000 in cash and a selection of cheap mobile phones during a search of his family home.
Today Fisher was jailed for eight years and eight months whilst Lal was handed five years and eight months behind bars.
Detective Inspector 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.
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’
‘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.’