Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.
You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
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.
We're offering more ways for our communities to stay up to date with our work across Essex.
Our e-newsletter, Dispatch, delivers news, information, and advice from Essex Police.
Dispatch is a ‘one stop shop’ for local police news – direct from the source.
Sign up is completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time.