Man and woman jailed for drug dealing in Reading
They were sentenced to between nearly three and four years
A woman and a man have been jailed for class A drug supply offences in Reading.
Claire Caesar, aged 48, of Basingstoke Road, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison at Reading Crown Court.
At the same hearing, Antonio Ferdinand, aged 26, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison.
Caesar pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply a class A drug, namely heroin, one count of possession with intent to supply a class A drug, namely crack cocaine, and one count of possession with intent to supply a class A drug, namely Cocaine.
Ferdinand pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply a class A drug, namely heroin, and one count of possession with intent to supply a class A drug, namely crack cocaine.
February 25
At around 2.40pm on 3 February 2025, officers stopped a blue Suzuki S-Cross Motion on Bearwood Road near Reading. The driver, Caesar, was detained for a search under Section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act.
Officers found a single wrap of suspected class A drugs located within the coin section of Caesar’s purse, with a further 10 wraps of suspected class A drugs located in the notes section, along with a large quantity of cash totalling £905. Caesar was then arrested.
A Section 32 search of the Suzuki was completed and £1000 cash, which was located in the sunglasses compartment above the rear-view mirror, was seized.. White powder remnants were also found in the boot of the vehicle, which tested positive for cocaine.
A Section 18 house search was completed at Caesar’s home address, where officers located drug-related paraphernalia, including empty deal bags and weighing scales, which were all seized.
In a police interview, Caesar denied all offences, claiming the drugs found were not hers. She stated that she was on her way to a spa to relax and was going via the post office to deposit some cash she had been saving for her daughter and to pay her rent.
The total value of the drugs were valued around £600.
August 25
On 5 August 2025, there was a second incident involving Clare Caesar. A blue Suzuki was seen on Great Knolly’s Street, Reading, where Caesar was located along with Antonio Ferdinand as a passenger.
Officers stopped the vehicle on Bedford Road for a Section 23 search under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Caesar had resisted this and was arrested for possession with intent to supply class A drugs after she was seen to discard a package of crack cocaine.
A Section 23 search of the vehicle recovered a Nokia on the back seat and an iPhone in the cradle of the driver’s side. Cash amounting to £219 was located in the driver door pocket, along with a bundle of approximately 50 wraps on the rear wheel of the driver’s side.
Ferdinand was found in possession of three phones, and a further bundle of class A drugs were recovered down the side of the passenger seat, estimating around 50 wraps.
The total street value recovered from Bedford Road was valued around £700.
Ferdinand and Caesar were arrested the same day and charged the next day.
Caesar had been under investigation following a pre‑charge case from February. In August, officers from the local proactive team arrested her again in relation to a separate matter. Both cases were reviewed and taken to the Crown Prosecution Service that same night, and she was subsequently charged with both offences.
Prosecute
Investigating officer, PC Ross Hutcheson of the Reading Proactive team, said: “Our team will proactively target and prosecute offenders like Caesar and Ferdinand, and our activity will be both visible and covert aimed at disrupting and pursuing offenders involved in the supply of drugs.
“The information from the public around the drug supply offences in Reading plays an important role in developing intelligence into a proactive investigation.
“If you have any information we would encourage you to report it to us by calling 101 or through the online reporting on our website.”