Asylum Seeker Wanted as Fugitive Found in Prison After Drug Arrest

Authorities mistakenly believed Kenson Noel, an asylum seeker, was a fugitive on the run after he failed to attend a court hearing for assaulting two female police officers. His legal representation had been unable to contact him as he was no longer residing at the Roundhouse Hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset.

It later emerged that Noel was already in jail, having been arrested and remanded into custody by another law enforcement agency for a separate drug dealing offense. The court heard that Noel had not informed prison staff about his trial scheduled for August 19, and his current whereabouts were not disclosed to the courts by the Home Office.

Noel, 31, appeared in court via prison video link for sentencing regarding the assaults at the Roundhouse Hotel. He is an illegal immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago who arrived in the UK in 2024, stating he was fleeing drug gangs in his home country. Initially placed on the Bibby Stockholm migrant barge in Portland, Dorset, he was found with 6.5 grams of cannabis, scales, bags, and £800 cash. During that arrest, he bit a police officer on the elbow and received a community order.

After the Bibby Stockholm barge was decommissioned in 2025, Noel was relocated to the migrant hotel in Bournemouth. On June 26, 2025, he was arrested again in Bournemouth Lower Gardens, an area known for drug dealing. He attempted to evade officers by jumping into a stream but was apprehended with 9.5 grams of cocaine. A mobile phone he threw into the stream was recovered but was too water-damaged for analysis.

Noel was released on bail and continued to reside at the Roundhouse Hotel. On October 27 of the previous year, police were called to his room after he became aggressive and locked himself inside. While being detained, he attempted to headbutt PC Maddie Duncanson and bite her and PC Sinead Sheath, also spitting at PC Duncanson.

Noel denied two charges of assault and appeared before magistrates in November 2025, with his trial set for August 19. Prosecuting, Charles Nightingale, stated that Noel was on unconditional bail and that the trial proceeded in his absence. Nightingale noted that between November 2025 and August 19, Noel had been arrested and remanded for other matters and was in custody on August 19. The prosecutor argued that Noel was aware of his trial date and it was his responsibility to inform prison staff, thus absconding from the trial.

Noel was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to three years and three months for possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Ewa Russell, defending, acknowledged that Noel could have been more proactive in informing the court of his imprisonment but stated the case had slipped his mind following his arrest and remand for drug offenses. Russell added that the assaults resulted in no physical contact or injury to the officers. Regarding the drug charge, which Noel admitted, she contended the cocaine was for personal use.

He received a total sentence of eight months for the assaults, to run concurrently with his existing three-year and three-month sentence.