Police Catch Man Inhaling Laughing Gas from Balloon. Find 48,000 Cans in His Residence – News18

Police in the UK’s Cheshire arrested a 25-year-old man after spotted him inhaling laughing gas from a blue balloon while driving his car. The use of laughing gas or nitrous oxide as an intoxicant in the UK has risen in the past few years.

Police, earlier this year in March, then searched Keaton Ormerod-Beck’s car and found £6,000 worth of cannabis resin and several empty canisters of laughing gas.

They then proceeded to search a ‘lock-up’ (warehouse) and a separate address in the Little Sutton area linked to the accused and found 48,000 canisters of the popular party drug along with £3,785 in cash.

Drug paraphernalia and two kgs of cocaine were also recovered. The combined value of the drug bust was above £61,400.

Keaton Ormerod-Beck who worked in the event catering and IT industry was never in trouble with the police earlier. He admitted to charges of supply of class B drugs (ketamine) and class A drugs (cocaine), possession with intent to supply class B drugs (cannabis) and class C drugs (nitrous oxide), and not being in proper control of a vehicle.

The Chester Crown Court sentenced him to five years and four months in prison this week.

The UK government is mulling stricter provisions or a full-fledged ban on the sale or possession of nitrous oxide. “Ormerod-Beck showed no regard for the law and put other road users at serious risk. Thankfully, our officers PC Swash and PC Davies stopped him in his tracks before he caused any further damage and, in the process, uncovered thousands of pounds worth of illegal drugs in his possession,” Detective sergeant Stuart Needham was quoted as saying by UK-based Metro.

“Ormerod-Beck was previously unknown to the police and tried to operate under the radar, but thanks to stop and search powers and the due diligence of our roads policing officers, a dangerous drug dealer is now behind bars and a significant amount of illegal drugs have been removed from our streets,” he further added.

The sight of laughing gas cans have become a regular sight on festivals and high streets and even 16-year-olds have also admitted to taking the drug, as per surveys conducted in recent years.