A DRUG dealer has been jailed for more than six years after being found guilty by a jury of being part of an organised crime network.

Lee Mitchell, from Little Canfield, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday, January 11, having been charged after police obtained a court warrant to search his address.

Officers found he had purchased 750g of cocaine from a drug gang, and further investigations found Mitchell, 45, had links to an organised crime group which supplied drugs to Essex, Hertfordshire, Thames Valley, and London.

In all, 16 members of that group have been jailed for a total of 166 years, with Mitchell now serving as six-and-a-half-year sentence.

Detective Inspector Grant Finnie, from Hertfordshire Constabulary, said breaking up the gang could have a knock-on effect on reducing crime throughout the county.

He said: “Mitchell was part of a drug supply network which distributed into the Hertfordshire, Thames Valley, Essex and London areas for many years.

“Successfully dismantling such a significant network will have a big impact on drug use and associated crime within the county.

“This will also send a message to anyone involved in drug dealing, that Hertfordshire is a hostile environment for gangs and they will be pursued relentlessly.”