Kitan Ososami secured the unanimous acquittal of a young man at Kingston Crown Court who faced two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and one count of possession of criminal property.

The defence advanced under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was that Kitan’s client had been compelled to sell drugs to repay a debt arising from exploitation that began in childhood.

The jury heard evidence from two police officers, including a “gangs expert”, who cast doubt on the client’s account by asserting that the area in which he lived was the territory of a rival gang to the one he claimed had exploited him.

The jury also heard about the client’s previous convictions for drug possession and supply.

Despite this, the jury accepted the defence case and returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on every count.

Kitan was instructed by Daniel Ankama of MTC Solicitors