Drug dealer jailed after death of University of Cambridge student at Trinity College

A drug dealer has been jailed after the death of a University of Cambridge student led to his arrest.

Benjamin Brown, 32, from Guildford in Surrey, was tracked down after officers found Keshava Iyengar, 20, dead in a friend's room at Trinity College, Cambridge, on March 13, 2021.

A coroner’s report concluded the student's death was drug-related after an inquest in January 2022 heard from a pathologist that he had "potentially fatal quantities of Xanax in his blood" and died from "alprazolam toxicity".

A police investigation uncovered messages on his phone from a drug dealer called ‘Lean Xan Man’.

The dealer described himself as a “pharmacist”, selling various prescription-only drugs through Instagram and Snapchat.

Officers identified Lean Xan Man as Brown and arrested on July 27, 2021. A search of his of Byrefield Road home uncovered drugs, more than £15,000 in cash and sticky labels with his ‘business logo’.

Brown pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, two counts in the supply of class C, one count in the supply of class B, possession of class A and possession with intent to supply class C.

Brown was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison at Huntingdon Law Courts last Friday (November 17).

The judge described Brown’s drug-dealing business as “substantial, sophisticated and lucrative” and said through greed he had “profited from the vulnerabilities of others dependent on prescription medication for conditions such as anxiety.”

Det Con Dan Harper, who investigated, said: “Brown was running a huge operation from his bedroom in Surrey, which had tragic consequences.

“It is not possible to prove that Brown’s actions caused the death of Keshava, but you can say with certainty that drugs ruin lives and there is a reason why some can only be prescribed by a medical professional. This is why it continues to be a priority for police in Cambridgeshire.”

The inquest into the death of Mr Iyengar, from London, heard the student had taken the drug for "high anxiety levels" but was "not reckless". Coroner Simon Milburn concluded that there was evidence that Mr Iyengar had not intended to take his own life.

Information on drug dealing can be reported via the police website, or by calling 101.