Man who started drugs line on day of release jailed

A man who started a drugs line on the day he was released from prison last year has been jailed again.

Esten Bennett, from Stafford, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drug crack cocaine at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Thursday and was jailed for five years and six months.

Police arrested Bennett in Telford on 4 March after he was found in a vehicle with a wrap of drugs, £170 in cash and a mobile phone linked to a drugs line he started on 13 January—the day he was released from prison one year into a six-year sentence.

The 32-year-old was previously jailed for other drug-related offences.

West Mercia Police said, during the seven weeks the line was active, it was responsible for supplying drugs across Telford and Wales.

Dt Sgt Andy Pond said: "Bennett showed a clear determination to return to criminality, setting up a drugs line on the day he was released from prison.

"His actions fuelled the supply of harmful class A drugs across Telford and beyond, and this sentence reflects the seriousness of that offending."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.