South Shropshire cocaine dealer used Snapchat to peddle class A drugs
A drug dealer who plied his illegal trade on Snapchat has been locked up.
Owen Dykes, 21, of Powys Drive, Ludlow, was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of a class A drug (cocaine), possession of a class B drug (cannabis) and possession of a controlled class A drug (cocaine).
He was locked up for 30 months after appearing at Worcester Crown Court on Thursday, February 19.
He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228 and fined £150, and the court ordered for his drugs and paraphernalia to be destroyed.
West Mercia Police said that during a large-scale drugs investigation in 2025, a phone number of interest was identified and linked to Dykes.
On May 27, 2025, a silver Transit van was stopped in light of intelligence it had drugs on board.
Dykes, the passenger, was searched and found to have a small amount of cannabis inside his bag, which he said was for personal use.
This arrest led to a warrant being executed by Hereford Proactive CID on the morning of Tuesday, July 22, where officers forced entry to Dykes’s home address and arrested him on suspicion of drug supply offences.
They seized two iPhones as well as two suspected ecstasy tablets and three grams of cocaine plus a working set of scales.
Detective Sergeant Jim Moore concluded Dykes was involved in a drug trafficking enterprise and the drugs being supplied were cocaine, so he was charged and the case was taken to court.
Digital forensics on his phone showed Snapchat activity linking him to drug dealing and a bank account showing a high volume of third-party credits for a considerable amount of money.
A sample of the transactions all related to known drug users and convicted drug dealers, and it became evident his account had been used to launder drug money.
DS Moore said: “We are pleased to get another Herefordshire drug dealer behind bars and off our streets peddling drugs and causing harm to our communities.
“Dykes’ conviction was the result of a successful and well-planned investigation by the team, and we will continue to track down and prosecute those who seek to sell narcotics in the county.
“As ever, the public can be our eyes and ears on the ground in the fight to keep the streets free from drug dealers.”
