Drug dealer jailed after death of Cambridge University student

Benjamin Brown, 32, was jailed for four-and-a-half years following the death of 20-year-old Keshava Iyengar.

Benjamin Brown was jailed at Huntingdon Law Courts (Alamy/PA)

A drug dealer who was arrested after the death of a Cambridge University student has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Officers tracked down and arrested Benjamin Brown after 20-year-old Keshava Iyengar was found dead in a friend’s room at Trinity College in Cambridge on March 13 2021, Cambridgeshire Police said.

An inquest concluded that the death of Mr Iyengar, who had taken an overdose of anti-anxiety medication, was drug-related.

Cambridgeshire Police said it was not possible to prove that Brown’s actions caused the death of Mr Iyengar, but that he was sentenced for supplying and possessing drugs.

It is not possible to prove that Brown’s actions caused the death of Keshava, but you can say with certainty that drugs ruin lives and there is a reason why some can only be prescribed by a medical professional

Dc Dan Harper, Cambridgeshire Police

A police investigation had uncovered messages on Mr Iyengar’s phone from a drug dealer called “Lean Xan Man”.

The dealer described himself as a “pharmacist” selling a variety of prescription-only drugs through Instagram and Snapchat.

Officers identified Lean Xan Man as Brown, 32, of Byrefield Road, Guildford, Surrey.

He was arrested on July 27 2021 and a search of his home uncovered drugs, more than £15,000 in cash and sticky labels with his “business logo”, Cambridgeshire Police said.

The force said Brown pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, one count in the supply of class B, two counts in the supply of class C, possession of class A and possession with intent to supply class C.

He was sentenced on Friday at Huntingdon Law Courts to four-and-a-half years in prison, Cambridgeshire Police said.

The force said the sentencing judge described Brown’s drug-dealing business as “substantial, sophisticated and lucrative”.

He said that, through greed, Brown had “profited from the vulnerabilities of others dependent on prescription medication for conditions such as anxiety.”

Detective Constable Dan Harper, who investigated the case, said: “Brown was running a huge operation from his bedroom in Surrey, which had tragic consequences.

“It is not possible to prove that Brown’s actions caused the death of Keshava, but you can say with certainty that drugs ruin lives and there is a reason why some can only be prescribed by a medical professional.”