County line drug dealer jailed after Court of Appeal ruling
Luis Ferreira, 34. - Credit: Herts police
A county lines drug dealer who operated in Welwyn Garden City will face four years behind bars after the Court of Appeal ruled his original sentence to be too lenient.
Luis Ferreira, 34, ran a county lines drug dealing operation in Welwyn Garden City between August and November 2018.
He preyed on local addicts to carry out his street deals, and co-opted (or ‘cuckooed’) the address of vulnerable individuals from whose homes he operated.
Ferreira used a mobile phone to send out bulk texts to drug users who would then contact him to purchase Class A drugs.
Ferreira has 17 previous convictions for 43 offences, although none of them were drug related.
Ferreira was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply and two counts of supplying Class A drugs.
On January 18, 2021, Ferreira was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment at St Albans Crown Court, suspended for two years.
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Following a referral to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme by the then Solicitor General, on March 18 2021 the Court found the sentence to be unduly lenient and increased it to four years’ immediate imprisonment.
After the hearing at the Court of Appeal, the now Attorney General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP, said: “Ferreira played a significant role in the supply of Class A drugs, taking advantage of vulnerable people at various stages of his criminal enterprise. I welcome the Court’s decision to order his immediate imprisonment.”
