Former Bay City Rollers Les McKeown and Patrick McGlynn have been cleared of dealing drugs at Basildon Crown Court.
As previously reported, McKeown was accused of setting up the deal between McGlynn and an associate, Alistair Murray, and two other men. McGlynn was found in a hotel car park in Waltham Abbey with £16,500 on him, whilst the two other men, also in the car park, were in possession of sixteen thousand pounds worth of cocaine. It sounds like a recipe for a guilty verdict, but having seen all the evidence available the jury believed the defendants' claims that the meeting was set up to arrange the sale of a car. The presence of the drugs was just a coincidence, apparently.
The pair are understandably quite pleased to have been cleared of the charges. McGlynn said: "The relief is unbelievable. It feels like I've won the lottery three times over. I don't know how I feel exactly. It's just a relief that this dreadful ordeal is over. I shall now be going to have a glass of champagne and then I'm looking forward to going on tour again."