Northamptonshire drug dealers jailed

A drug dealer who ran a county line supplying heroin and crack cocaine across Northamptonshire has been locked up for nine years.

Northampton Crown Court heard Richiro Riviere-Frederick, aged 20, was the ringleader of a gang responsible for a drugs supply network.

With four of his associates, 20-year-olds Jack Morrisey, Mitosz Musielewski, and Louis Jones together with Ricki Clarke, aged 31, he began running the line in April 2019, using burner phones to contact their drug-addicted clients.

But police arrested Clarke and Musielewski in the Spinney Hill area of Northampton in January last year. Inside their hire car, officers discovered 30 wraps of heroin and 159 wraps of crack cocaine, worth a total of £1,779. Cash and mobile phones were also recovered.

A fortnight later, police stopped a car with Riviere-Frederick, Morrisey and Jones inside.  

Cocaine and heroin worth £1,140 were recovered and a number of mobile phones were seized along with SIMS for the so-called Pablo line. From these, police officers were able to determine a stream of messages were coming into the phones daily.

Riviere-Frederick was charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and one of possession of criminal property. He also admitted being in breach of a suspended sentence.

Sentencing him to nine years and two months, His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo said he believed the conspiracy was worth about £500,000, with up to 10kg of drugs changing hands. He ordered that Riviere-Frederick serve half his sentence before being released on licence.

Last December, fellow conspirator Morrisey was jailed for six years, eight months, Jones received four years and four months while Clark was jailed for four years and eight months jail. Musielewski was handed a 20-month suspended sentence.

The judge also warned Riviere-Frederick of his intention to hold a hearing to impose a Serious Crime Prevention Order and a POCA Proceeds of Crime Act hearing to seize their assets.

Det Insp Nick Cobley, from the Force’s Serious Organised Crime team, said he welcomed the sentence handed down to the gang’s ringleader: “This court result once again highlights Northamptonshire Police’s intent and ability to robustly tackle serious and organised crime occurring in our county and beyond.

“I would like to commend all of those involved in bringing this investigation to such a successful conclusion. Those involved in the supply of drugs within our county should be under no illusion that we are committed to tackling drug dealing and that we have the capability, skills and desire to deal with anyone, no matter how untouchable they may think they are.

“We will keep pursuing relentlessly those criminals who continue to cause the most harm to our communities.”