Man jailed for offering to supply drugs to celebrities

A 34-YEAR-OLD man who plotted to secretly film celebrities, including singer Amy Winehouse, taking drugs so he could sell footage to newspapers was jailed for two years yesterday.

Johnny Blagrove and girlfriend Cara Burton, aged 22, were charged with offering to supply drugs after a video of Winehouse apparently smoking a crack pipe during a party at her home emerged.

The pair sold the footage to The Sun newspaper for £50,000 (€56,000) but it was later passed to police.

They had planned to target other celebrities and also falsely claimed to reporters that they had a video of Peaches Geldof taking drugs, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

Blagrove, of Stepney Way, London, admitted two counts of offering to supply Class A drugs — cocaine and MDMA — and one of offering to supply Class B drugs, amphetamine.

Burton of Missingham, Scunthorpe, wept as she was handed a two-year community order by Judge Tudor Owen. She had pleaded guilty to two counts of offering to supply Class B drugs, amphetamine.

The judge watched the grainy video which showed Winehouse discussing drugs, and said it was a “peculiar” case.

He said the video “gives an informative insight into the seedy world of those who take controlled drugs”.

He told Blagrove his offending was a “serious”.

“Those who descend into the seedy world of the unlawful use of controlled drugs must face the consequences.

“Drugs, particularly Class A drugs, create a serious problem and a great deal of misery, not only to those who use them but also to the victims of offences quite often committed by people to get money to buy those drugs.”