A suspected Bestival dealer who was caught with a £2m drug haul and went on the run for five years has been jailed

Henry Thomas Henderson, 56, of The Rogers in Shanklin, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday, February 4 having previously admitted:

- Four counts of possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply

- Two counts of possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply

- Two counts of possession of a Class C drug with intent to supply

These offences date back to September 8, 2016, when PC Tom Wyld stopped and arrested Henderson in a car in the Newport area, along with his co-accused Timothy Morgan.

Following a subsequent search of Henderson’s address at the time in Downsview, Sandown, and a search of Morgan’s vehicle parked outside, police recovered drugs with an estimated street value of £2m.

This included the seizure of high purity heroin and cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, amphetamine and khat.

It was suspected that the drugs were set to be dealt over the Bestival weekend.

Henderson was subsequently bailed to allow officers to make further enquiries, but he fled to Spain to evade prosecution.

A European Arrest Warrant was authorised and he was subsequently charged with the drugs offences on September 30, 2021 when he returned to the UK.

He admitted the charges when he appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on December 1, 2021.

Today he was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison.

Morgan, formerly of Church Road in Wootton, was previously convicted of the same charges as Henderson following a trial in his absence. On 23 August 2018, he was sentenced to nine-and-a-half-years in prison.

Detective Constable Lee Parker said: ‘This was a huge seizure of drugs by police, and a lot of work went into bringing this case together.

‘Henderson foolishly believed he could evade justice, but we hope that this case sends a warning to those who think they are immune to prosecution – you are wrong.

‘Drug supply causes immeasurable harm to our communities. It is often linked to violence and the exploitation of children, and we know that residents on the Island want this stamped out.

‘Tackling drug related harm is a priority for us, and we continue to appeal to the public to provide us with any pieces of information they have around drug use and supply in their area.

‘The more we know, the bigger the picture we have.’

Anyone with information about drugs supply is encouraged to report to police via the Report tool on the Hampshire police website, or by calling 101.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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