A MAN who crashed a car on a busy road near Dorchester has received a driving ban and a four-month suspended sentence after police found cocaine in his vehicle.

30-year-old Ridjan Medhasani from Weymouth was driving his silver Mercedes-Benz E220 dangerously on the A35 on May 18, 2024 before he crashed on the westbound carriageway of the Puddletown bypass.

Officers attended the incident, and following later intelligence, they then proactively stopped Medhasani in his vehicle later on May 21, 2024 in Maumbury Road in Dorchester where it was believed to be connected to drug offences.

Six individual wraps of cocaine were found in his vehicle.

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Medhasani was arrested and subsequently charged. He pleaded guilty to the drug offences at court and he was found guilty following trial for the dangerous driving offences.

He was disqualified from driving for three years and given a four-month suspended sentence for 18 months, on the condition that he complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity following his sentencing at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on July 23.

He was also ordered to pay costs totalling £239. Police said the seized drugs will be destroyed.

Detective constable Megan Matthews, of Dorset County CID, said: “Ridjan Medhasani’s reckless driving led to a collision on a busy road, in which fortunately no one else was involved or injured.

“Our drugs intel work and proactive monitoring of him driving days later led to officers having cause to stop his vehicle and search it where cocaine was located and seized.

“We will do all we can to ensure perpetrators of both motoring and drugs offences are brought before the courts to be held accountable for their actions.”