A Bishop’s Stortford drug dealer who police said had had “a huge impact on individuals” over the course of three years of criminality in the town has been jailed.
Louis Bricknell, 22, of Trinity Road, appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Monday (May 13) and was sentenced to four years and four months in prison. He was also banned from driving for four years.
Bricknell conducted most of his activities between October 2020 and November last year in the Stortford vicinity, where he was arrested for drug- and driving-related offences.
During the course of their investigation, police seized drugs with a total street value of more than £48,000 along with a significant amount of cash.
In October 2020, aged just 19, Bricknell was involved in a collision in Southmill Road in which a BMW he was driving overturned and ploughed into a brick wall and front garden of a house.
He was found in possession of cocaine, with intent to supply it, and around £1,000 cash. He was also arrested for dangerous driving, drug driving, driving without insurance and taking a vehicle without consent.
Then in March last year he was stopped in South Street in a cloned black Jaguar XF after being spotted driving erratically by officers.
He was again arrested for being in possession with intent to supply class A drugs (cocaine and MDMA) with a street value of £4,000. Cash and cannabis were also seized from his vehicle. He was also arrested for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
In November, he was arrested at his Trinity Road address, where police seized class A drugs 2C-B and ketamine with an approximate street value of £44,000 as well as cannabis and MDMA. An offensive weapon (an extendable baton) was also seized.
Det Sgt Adam Haines, of the East Herts local crime unit, said: “This is a very good result for local policing in East Herts.
“Bricknell has had a huge impact on individuals in Bishop’s Stortford and has taken advantage of vulnerable people when selling class A drugs in the area.
“I like to hope this result reassures the community in Bishop’s Stortford and surrounding areas that we will not tolerate this level of criminality and we will always look to bring offenders to justice.
“Our proactive teams and investigators are always targeting those offenders who cause the most harm. I would encourage anyone with information about offences to come forward and contact us so that we can continue to keep Hertfordshire safe.”
People can report information online at herts.police.uk/report or speak to an operator in the force communications room online via web chat at herts.police.uk/contact. You can also call non-emergency number 101.
Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the independent charity’s untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.
