On-The-Run Playboy Drug Dealer Who Faked Novichok Poisoning Sentenced

A “playboy” who sparked fears of a fresh Novichok attack when he collapsed in a Salisbury restaurant has been sentenced to 11 years in his absence after he was convicted of dealing drugs.

Alex King, 42, went on the run in December after a string of failed attempts to avoid justice, including his false claim to have been poisoned in a branch of Prezzo, where he was dining with his Russian-born wife, Anna Shapiro.

The scheme sparked a major incident in September, six months after Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia fell ill shortly after leaving Zizzi, another Italian dining chain in the city, after coming into contact with the deadly nerve agent.

The previous month, King and his wife had to be rescued while sailing off the Welsh coast by the RNLI after the boat they bought in Holyhead, north Wales, ran out of fuel.

His “bizarre” party lifestyle was laid bare in Southwark Crown Court, which heard he sold drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, and arranged high-class escorts, including his wife, to make money.

No hint was given in court as to King’s whereabouts as he was sentenced in his absence on Friday, after he was convicted of two charges of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, one charge of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and one charge of conspiracy to supply Class C drugs following a trial.

The court heard he was last seen leaving a flat with his wife near Harley Street, in central London, on December 17 last year.

“They were seen by his landlord, the pair of them, loading up the car with their property, both healthy, leaving an address he was living at in breach of his bail conditions, and they have not been seen since,” said Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith.

“His behaviour up to the trial date is not relevant to this sentence.

“It may well be relevant when he is arrested and faces a Bail Act offence.”