Asylum seeker jailed for drug dealing was mistakenly sought over police assaults

Kenson Noel was believed to be a fugitive after missing his trial for assaulting two female police officers, but he was already in prison on a separate drug offence. The case highlights how authorities and the court lost track of his whereabouts while he was in custody.

Noel, 31, was arrested in Bournemouth in June 2025 with 9.5g of cocaine after trying to evade police, and was later remanded for drug dealing; he received three years and three months for possessing cocaine with intent to supply. He had also bitten an officer during an earlier arrest and, in October, tried to headbutt and bite two officers and spat at one of them. He received eight months for the assaults.