Dovercourt: Man jailed for importing ecstasy pills from Germany

A Dovercourt man has received a custodial sentence of four years and four months after admitting importing ecstasy pills from Germany with intent to supply.

Joel Cairns, 20, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on 9 October 2024 for importation of MDMA (ecstasy), possession with intent to supply ecstasy, three counts of possession with intent to supply Class C drugs - Pregablin, Diazepam and Alprazolam - possession with intent to supply cannabis, possession of cannabis, and possessing or controlling a cloning device for use in fraud.

After the hearing, Sergeant Vanessa Moss, of Harwich Community Policing Team, said:

“The trade in illegal drugs, no matter which class they are in, causes misery in our communities. 
“We often rely on information the public provides to help us target drug dealers who prey on vulnerable people.
“Cairns clearly thought he could get round the system by ordering drugs online from abroad and having them posted to him in such quantities it was obvious he was going to sell them on. But he was wrong. 
“Officers searching his home following his arrest recovered a large quantity of other classified drugs in pill form, plus cannabis bud, which provided the court with incontestable evidence of his intentions.”

At a previous hearing on 13 July 2024, Colchester magistrates were told that Cairns had been arrested on 11 July 2024 after a Border Force officer examining parcels from Germany discovered 496 MDMA tablets inside one addressed to Cairns.

Cairns was arrested and a search of his home address in Parkeston Road revealed more ecstasy pills and cannabis bud, as well as Pregablin, Diazepam and Alprazolam tablets. Officers also located three large bags of cannabis and a bag of ecstasy pills in a shed in the garden plus digital scales and empty deal bags

A mobile phone and a card cloner were also seized.

Cairns was sentenced to a total of four years and four months in a young offenders’ institution. The court also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and drugs paraphernalia plus phones and laptops seized during the investigation, the card cloning device and blank cards recovered with it.

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