Watch officer’s bodycam footage as Cambridgeshire drug dealer jumps in river in attempt to evade justice

The moment a drug dealer jumped in the river in a bid to evade the police pursuing him was captured on officer’s bodycam footage.

The dealer, who tied a manbag containing drugs and money to hanging branches, failed to escape - and has now been jailed for more than three years.

Neighbourhood officers were on patrol in St Neots on 21 August, 2023, when they spotted Fynley Jefferies sitting on a fence on Hardwick Road.

He had a manbag across his front and a black plastic bag with him.

But when the officers turned to speak to him, the 20-year-old ran off, went through some bushes and jumped into the river.

He stayed in the water for a few minutes and was seen tying his manbag to some hanging branches before getting out, where he was met by police. Getting out of the river, dripping wet, he is heard on the footage saying he was “so scared”.

An officer, who says hello to a couple of onlookers sitting peacefully beside the river, tells him: “You’ve lost your bag… surprisingly.”

The officer tells Jefferies he was stopped because there was a smell of cannabis around him,

Jefferies claimed he ran because he was “paranoid” after smoking and did not know what he had dropped.

The officers enlisted the help of a member of the public with a paddleboard to retrieve the manbag, which was found to contain £325 in cash as well as cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine with a street value of £2,000.

At Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday (4 June), Jefferies, of Parker Close, Eynesbury, was sentenced to three years and 11 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession with intent to supply MDMA, possession of cannabis, harassment without violence and malicious communication.

PC Neal Bartley, from the St Neots neighbourhood policing team, said: “Jefferies put his life at risk by jumping into the river in an attempt to hide his drugs and cash from us.

“Unfortunately for him we knew exactly what he was up to and with help from a member of the public, we were able to secure the evidence needed for his conviction.

“We will continue to target people who sell drugs in our community.”

If drug dealing is an issue where you live, report it to police online.